'School of hate' scandal

A human Rights Commission report alleges that teachers at the Dr Viljoen Combined School, in the Free State, called black and coloured pupils "k*****s", "baboons" and "black bitches".

The commission said the remarks were hate speech.

The children will have to continue sitting in class with their alleged abusers.

Free State department of education spokesman Howard Ndaba said yesterday that no action had been taken against any of the school's staff because the department was conducting its own investigation and would identify the guilty teachers.

It is alleged that certain teachers told pupils to go back to "black schools in the location", and that they would "never succeed in life" and would "end up like their parents who work in chain stores".

One teacher allegedly told black students that, "after seeing their ugly faces, he adored his dog even more because it was more beautiful than them".

Ironically, the school boasts that it was the first former Model C school to open to non-white pupils in 1995.

Formerly an Afrikaans-medium school, its pupil demographics changed drastically when it began to admit English-speakers in 2003.

But the staff demographics were largely unchanged; it had 48 white teachers and only three blacks.

Though most of the teachers refused to assist the Human Rights Commission in its investigation, three teachers who did "vehemently refuted" the allegations.

Principal Francois Schoon and the school governing body said the school had never before been accused of racism.

Ndaba said the education department considered the commission's findings in a "very serious light" and would implement its recommendations.

These include that the school and department provide a curriculum and resources that would "challenge racist attitudes".

Professor Jonathan Jansen, vice-chancellor and rector of the University of the Free State, said teachers who persisted in racist behaviour should be banned from schools.

Schoon said he was unable to comment on the report because he had yet to study it.