Durban - Newly appointed MEC for Education in KwaZulu-Natal, Mbali Frazer, is expected to visit Hillcrest High School (HHS) following allegations of racism. It is alleged that learners were using the K-word and N-word in private chat messages in a WhatsApp group.
According to News24, the chats were leaked via social media and the account has since been deleted. In the chats, there is an exchange in which learners use the K-word and N-word, both considered racial slurs toward black people.
In a Facebook post, the School Governing Body chairperson Byron Creed, explained that five learners were implicated in the exchange.
Creed said the WhatsApp group has no affiliation whatsoever to HHS other than the learners attend HHS.
“I would also like to mention that this issue was never swept under the carpet as stated by the media, it was given the full attention of the school Disciplinary Committee who investigated the issue at hand. There is a school process to follow and HHS has informed the Department of Education of this incident,” he said.
It is alleged that snippets of the content from 2021 were shared on social media this year.
Creed said a disciplinary meeting was arranged in June this year between the HHS Disciplinary Committee, the five learners and their parents.
“In a meeting, the five expressed their remorse as they did not fully understand the connotation of the words and the history of the words they had written in their private WhatsApp group chat. The parents also apologised profusely for their children’s actions and pledged to educate their children further on this issue. A positive group discussion was had with a lot of interaction between all who were present at the meeting.
“Finally, after the Discipline Committee had deliberated the contents of the meeting in a private discussion, the school Disciplinary Committee concluded a sanction would be imposed on all fiver learners of a school suspension. The matter was concluded,” he said.
At the end of Term 2, the SGB approved to proceed with the sourcing of guest speakers to discuss a range of topics from GBV to racism and theft. Creed said these will take place in the third term.
The MEC is expected to meet with school management on Thursday.
IOL