In an incident reported on Tuesday (October 23), an Ashton International College allegedly ordered a Muslim learner at the school to shave off his beard, despite the beard being part of his religious belief.
The City Times contacted the Department of Education regarding the alleged incident.
A source confirmed that the Department of Education visited the school on Wednesday (October 24) but no official comment has yet been received from the department over the alleged incident.
In the interim, after an initial statement to the press regarding the allegations, a further statement was issued by the learning institution.
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According to the statement, Ashton International College operates under full Umalusi accreditation and South African Department of Education registration, as do a large number of private educational institutions in South Africa.
“This is not limited to Christian schools,” the statement read.
“To date, Ashton College has not received any directive to amend any policies.
“The minutes of the meetings with the family concerned reflect that the print media reports and the information presented on a radio talk show are inaccurate.
“Ashton College has not engaged lawyers and is more than willing to have this important conversation with the relevant parent.
“We have invited the parent to meet with us.
“We thank our parents and community for expressing their support and trust in our College.”
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