MASOYI – After Mpumalanga News published an article about Jerusalem High parents who were concerned about their daughters who had been sent home because they had had braided hair, a number of other parents also raised grievances about the same issue.
Ms Maureen Sifunda said her niece, Nozipho Silabi, a learner at Sakhile High was also chased away from school. She said that upon hearing the reason for it, she then called the school and one of the teachers confirmed that her niece was not welcome unless she removed her braids.
“The teacher’s remarks upset me so much that I went to speak to her in person and I was surprised when I came across three other girls with complicated hairstyles,” said Sifunda.
She said she could not understand why her niece had been refused entry to the school when she only had a simple black weave while there were other pupils who had red and blonde hair at the same school.
Another parent, Ms Moirah Mazibuko, said some teachers treated specific learners at schools badly as a way of settling personal scores with their parents.
“They call our children names in front of their classmates and this disturbs their concentration during lessons. I am not saying that learners should do as they please, but they should be disciplined fairly,” added Mazibuko.
One of the teachers of Sakhile High, who said she was not sure if she was allowed to speak on behalf of the school, could only confirm that pupils and their parents were aware of the school’s rules when it came to hairstyles.
“There is nothing personal here. We regularly have meetings where children and parents are reminded about the school conduct and instead of running to newspapers, they should stick to the rules,” she stated.
This reporter asked learners from other schools if they were experiencing the same problem.
A learner of Hoërskool Rob Ferreira said, “At my school we are allowed to braid our hair, as long as it does not fall over our faces and is within our natural hair colour. If a pupil comes to school with a funny hairstyle, she is not sent home Instead she will be given a certain period of time to have the braids removed and if she does not comply, she will receive demerits.”
Another learner from a school in Masoyi said her teachers had no problem with learners’ hairstyles.
“We have the freedom to choose our own styles and when learners do something wrong, they are not refused entry to the school.
“The teachers usually call the parents of misbehaving children and talk to them. I believe every child has a right to attend school and to be disciplined in a manner that will not affect that right,” she said.
