Learners' EFF picture doesn't breach Schools Act‚ say experts

The politically charged storm surrounding three Maritzburg College pupils who posted a pro-EFF tweet is “irrational and unconstitutional”.

The KwaZulu-Natal department of education said on Monday that charges against the pupils have been put on hold‚ pending a provincial education department probe into allegations of racism at the school.

The boys are facing charges that include breaching sections of the SA Schools Act. However‚ education experts disagree.

The charges‚ circulated on social media‚ say the photographs of the learners are in contravention of Section 33a of the Schools Act‚ which prohibits party-political activities during school hours‚ said Equal Education spokeswoman Leanne Jansen.

She said the charges also irrationally suggest that photographs of black learners speaking out about the dispossession of land – as a result of apartheid – are racially charged.

“These charges unconstitutionally limit the rights of learners‚ enshrined in the South African constitution in Sections 16‚ 17 and 28. These three sections speak to freedom of expression‚ individuals’ right to come together and collectively express their ideas‚ and the importance of prioritising the best interests of the child‚” Jansen said.

Jansen said schools should be spaces that foster debate and welcome critical engagement with political issues and current affairs.

“The manner in which the school has dealt with this incident has been been deplorable. The learners have been under public scrutiny‚ and inevitably their right to be protected as per Section 28 has been disregarded. We must be mindful that the constitution is the supreme law of the land‚” she said.

Mary Metcalfe‚ professor of education at Wits University‚ agreed with Jansen.

She said the intention of the Schools Act was to prevent political campaigning during school hours.

The former Gauteng education MEC said the furore around Maritzburg College has been inflamed by social media‚ where the photo has been distributed without giving context.

“Schools must be places for rational debate and discussion on current issues. This happens across the curriculum - in studies of history‚ language and literature‚ and the arts. School should promote debate and provide support for this debate to deepen thinking and skills of argument and the use of evidence‚” Metcalfe said.

“It would be best for the school to focus on its education mission and not be distracted by the eruption of social media commentary which does not take the context of the image into account.”

The pupils at the former Model C school posted a photo online in which one is holding a T-shirt bearing the handwritten words: “EFF our last hope of getting our land back.”

Maritzburg College‚ a public school for boys‚ planned to discipline the three pupils‚ who are dressed in their school uniform in the picture.

The elite school has since faced a backlash over the disciplinary charges.

Jansen said Equal Education welcomed the decision by the KwaZulu-Natal department of education to launch an investigation into allegations of racism at the school.

Craig MacKenzie‚ chairman of the Maritzburg College school governing body‚ said positive meetings were held with education department officials as well as the learners and their parents.

He said the school would consider the department’s recommendations overnight and issue a statement on Tuesday.