Mbeki: Report tackles education dept for racism smears, unfair suspensions

The Thabo Mbeki Foundation has criticised how allegations of racism at Pretoria High School for Girls were handled by the Gauteng education department, saying its investigation did not find “anything racist”.

“During our meeting with the department delegation, we said that we could not find anything racist in the chat room comments and requested the delegation to point to the supposed racism in these comments.

“The delegation responded that it did not engage with Pretoria High School for Girls because of the chat room. Indeed, it said it had not dealt with anything arising from the chat room comments.”

Yesterday, Gauteng department of education spokesperson Steve Mabona was emphatic in response to questions from The Citizen: “No comment.”

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Pupils cleared of racism

Twelve girls were suspended in July for alleged racist remarks on a WhatsApp group called the “chat room”.

They were cleared by an independently chaired disciplinary hearing.

The principal was also suspended and her deputy moved to the district office. The principal is still on suspension.

The letter dated, 10 October, sent by former president Mbeki, Prof Angina Parekh and Dr Philani Mthembu to Gauteng education MEC Matome Chiloane, premier Panyaza Lesufi and school governing body chair Craig Hezlett was scathing.

The suspension of pupils was triggered by what was deemed a “racist group chat and bullying” and “disregard of repercussions for executives [principal and the deputy] involved for their disregard of bullying and racism for nine months”.

“The delegation said the department took these actions because it has a responsibility to ensure the school is free of racism, whose incidence at the school had been confirmed in earlier inquiries.”

Thabo Mbeki Foundation recommends principal returns to work

However, the foundation found no racism in the chats.

“We have also closely studied the comments by the chat group, independently, to determine whether these constituted manifestations and hate speech,” Mbeki said.

“It seems, for some reason, that the department was determined to smear the school with the charge of racism.”

The foundation recommended that the principal and the deputy return to work.

“It is not necessarily correct that whenever the fissures among us, including of race, manifest at the school level, the automatic response must be punishment of the offender.

“This may not be the progressive approach to the larger, systemic challenge of building the nonracial and nonsexist society prescribed by our constitution.”

Leading education expert Mary Metcalfe said: “This underscores the obligation for the state to follow rules of procedural fairness in dealings with schools, which should guide education departments in dealing with prejudice and discrimination in schools.”