Alleged racist attack at PTA North school

A mother is furious her daughter was allegedly attacked during a racial dispute at her primary school in the north of Pretoria, Pretoria North Rekord reports.

The mother, whose identity is withheld to protect her child, said her eight-year-old daughter suffered a head injury when she was attacked by her fellow learners.

“Even though the school has recently identified a group of children involved in the attack, I still feel unsatisfied with how the matter was handled,” said the mother.

“The attack apparently happened during break time. A group of children were chanting and singing: ‘We will, we will, kill the whites. We will, we will take over the school’.”

The mother said the singing learners stood on the pavilion, and a few of them allegedly grabbed her daughter as she passed by.

“They pulled her on to the steps of the pavilion and started shoving her. She fell down and one of the kids stepped on her head. After my daughter told me what happened, I rushed her to a doctor and was told she had suffered a slight concussion.”

She said her daughter was scared of going back to school and only returned a week after the incident.

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Department of education spokesperson Oupa Bodibe said: “The department strongly condemns any form of violence among learners. Officials from the district will visit the school to investigate the matter.”

“If the allegations are found to be true, the department will ensure the correct disciplinary action is taken against the alleged perpetrator. The department had never hesitated to act where allegations of misconduct had been proven true. As the department we remain committed to root out racism in our education system and ensure our learners are free from any form of discrimination on the basis of their skin colour. We would also like to urge all our learners to report such cases as soon as they happen so principals can intervene immediately.”

Bodibe said learners should refrain from acts of misconduct in schools.

“We also appeal to parents to assist the department to enforce discipline in and outside the school environment.”

The mother said several children were identified as the instigators of the attack.

“They were suspended for a few days and given detention, but I don’t feel reassured something like this won’t happen again. The principal said they were engaging all learners in the school on the subject of racism and promised to continue these educational programmes with the kids to resolve the matter.”

– Caxton News Service

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