EDITORIAL | There’s no place for racism in SA’s schools. We must all fight it

There is a foreboding sense of déjà vu in the problems plaguing Cornwall Hill College in Pretoria.

Surely by now we should have properly dealt with the issues of transformation in institutions of learning. Yet here is the latest in a long list of incidents at SA schools over the years in which pupils of colour have been made to feel overlooked and disrespected. 

It seems the more things change, they more they stay the same. Racist behaviour persists, manifesting in ridiculous hair policies, language preferences, lack of diversity among teaching staff, favouritism based on racial lines and even who gets picked for what on the sports field.

We cannot tolerate it any longer.

Last week, a group of about 15 parents held a silent protest at the Pretoria Country Club over a lack of transformation at the upmarket private school. The school had been holding its annual fundraising golf day where other parents were in attendance.

Zibusiso Kganyago, one of the parents who participated in the protest, said that of the 66 teachers in the high school, only five were black.

“I am angry and disgusted. I just feel that the school has continued to perpetuate the myth that excellence resides in white people,” she told reporters.

The protest followed complaints from parents that almost a year after past and current pupils wrote testimonials about their experiences of racism and discrimination at the school, nothing has been done about it.

In a letter to parents in July last year, executive principal Leon Kunneke acknowledged that “there are people in our school community who have experienced racism and/or discrimination at Cornwall Hill College and as a result have been hurt”.

He undertook to set up a committee to investigate, which went nowhere.

He undertook to set up a committee to investigate, which went nowhere.

On Monday, Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi visited the school, where a black pupil told how she had experienced her first racist incident at the school seven years ago when, in grade four, a teacher told her that her hair was messy and suggested she should have it chemically straightened.

“Looking back at the situation, I feel angry. I am angry that anyone would dare tell a child in Africa that their African hair is unacceptable. I am angry that I was stripped of my African identity that one time, in one moment and by one person.”

The sad truth is that 27 years into democracy many people are still clinging to Eurocentric ideologies that have no place in the world, least of all on the vibrant multicultural continent of Africa.

What our children learn in school contributes massively to the blueprint of their lives. Our schools are incubators. Do we send our youth out into the world having taught them that we are all equal, but some are more equal than others? That culture and heritage should be celebrated, except when they don’t conform to the outdated, narrow-minded perceptions of untransformed teachers?  

Why should pupils of colour be made to feel second-rate and overlooked? The damage this does is far-reaching and long-lasting. Allowing it to continue sends a strong message that our education authorities tolerate prejudice and discrimination.

Fixing the problem starts with a transformed teaching staff. It also requires a principal who is passionate about ensuring pupils of all cultures are not only welcomed, but also embraced, understanding that diversity in the classroom leads to a better education.

That principal, and his or her staff, must commit to constantly interrogating their own bias, and also vigorously rooting it out when children bring it into the school.

This requires communication, engagement and honest open debate in a climate in which everyone’s voice is heard and everyone feels respected.

Principals have a lot on their plates in SA. But they downplay transformation at their own peril. It is a priority issue that must be actively addressed and interrogated on a daily basis by principals and SGBs. If they cannot do that, they must be replaced with someone who can. 

Kunneke, Cornwall Hill’s principal, appears to fall into this category. His lack of action over issues raised a year ago has come back to bite him, and rightly so. If the school’s governing body has any sense, he will be given his marching orders.

Then come the parents, who also have a vital role to play — both in the belief systems they teach their children, and also in holding schools accountable.

It’s not just an issue of black and white. It’s an issue of standing up for what is right and fair. White parents, pupils and teachers should also be protesting, because at the end of the day, diversity in schools helps children of all races understand various cultures and this better equips us all for life after school. 

If you believe your child’s school is not rising to the challenge, stand up – as the Cornwall Hill parents did last week – and let the country know about it.