Education department shuts down school at centre of dreadlocks hair drama as officials go MIA

The Gauteng education department has shut down Crowthorne Christian Academy, which has been at the centre of a storm over the alleged assault of a parent by an official over the institution's hair policy.

On Friday, the department announced it was serving the school with a notice of closure, saying it has been operating illegally.

The department's spokesperson, Steve Mabona, said it is prepared to place affected pupils in alternative schools.

“We urge all parents who have children in this school to contact the department for assistance,” he said.

SowetanLIVE reported that a 13-year-old pupil was barred from attending classes at the school because her dreadlocks violated the school’s new hair policy.

The pupil could not attend school on Monday and Tuesday this week after she was forcefully removed from her classroom. A video capturing the moment, including the alleged assault of the mother by a school official, surfaced on social media this week.

A 51-year-old man, Andries Hendrik Booysen, the husband of the school's principal, appeared at the Midrand magistrate's court on Thursday in connection with the incident, facing two charges of assault after allegedly “violently pushing” the pupil and her mother during an argument over the girl's dreadlocks.li

According to police, Booysen was arrested on Thursday morning and released on bail of R2,000, on condition he not contact or interfere with state witnesses, whether directly or indirectly.

The case was postponed to October 2 for further investigation.

Mabona said the department had originally hoped to “use a support and development stance towards the matter, including taking the school management team through compliance processes with regulations for the purpose of registration”.

Furthermore, the department wanted to facilitate a transformative process involving the school's constitution, democracy, values in education and respect of human rights.

However, Mabona said when officials visited the school on Thursday in Midrand — where they illegally moved without permission, according to the department — the owners had locked the gates and closed the school.

“This was dumbfounding as our officials had previously managed to enter the school on Monday. We have made multiple attempts to reach out to the school’s management, through various forms of communication and physical visits with law enforcement agencies, but the school refuses to open its gates and respond to our communication.”

TimesLIVE