Mpumalanga Premier Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane has appealed for calm after racial tensions in the community forced the closure of Witbank Technical High School this week.
Premier Mtsweni-Tsipane has outlined measures to be taken to calm the situation at the school and in the larger community, and to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Parents of boy assaulted at HTS not happy with the handling of situation
She was part of a delegation that included Education MEC Bonakele Majuba and Safety and Security MEC Vusi Shongwe that visited the school on Thursday, June 17 after a schoolyard fight resulted in racial tension in the community.
HTS beheerliggaam is teleurgesteld in optrede buite skoolhek
During the delegation’s visit, teachers and parents had the opportunity to share their version of what happened on June 8, when a fight broke out between learners.
One of the learners sustained injuries during the altercation, which led to the suspension of two learners.
HTS sluit deure tot volgende Maandag
Members of the community were not happy with the way the situation was handled and their anger boiled over on Monday, June 14 when parents and other community members clashed outside the school’s gate. Learners were busy writing exams inside at the time.
The situation escalated and the premier and MEC visited the school yesterday on a fact-finding mission.
The premier said they found that more than just the two suspended learners were involved in the altercation. Subsequently, another learner and an unspecified number of teachers were suspended.
The premier said that all of them had to be suspended to facilitate a fair resolution and proposed that counselling be given to all involved and affected by the incident, to help prevent future violent clashes and to work through.
She said the initial suspensions were not carefully thought out. “Hence we ended up taking the wrong decision.”
“This exacerbated the situation,” she added.
Premier Mtsweni-Tsipane condemned all incidents of racism, violence and intolerance and said the school’s policies and code of conduct need to be revised and the racial composition of the staff and school governing body probed.
“We have looked at the staff component of the school and it’s predominantly lily-white and that poses a challenge in terms of cultural background, our beliefs and how we do things,” she said.
“This results in matters been viewed from one perspective, at the expense of another culture,” she said.
These measures, she said, should create a more balanced approach to dealing with future challenges.
“Had this incident been managed impartially from the beginning, we would not be where we are,” she said. “Along the way, we must accept that we have faltered, and we must self-correct.”
She said the principal should have handled the matter better.
The intake of learners from areas outside of eMalahleni will also be investigated.
Premier Mtsweni-Tsipane gave a stern warning to parents to stay away from the school. She said the school and relevant authorities should be given the space needed to resolve the situation. Meanwhile, the police will be deployed to assist in keeping peace and order.
Parents were urged to talk to their children about tolerance, and that violence is not an acceptable way to resolve conflicts.
The delegation will return to the school on June 21 to look at further steps that need to be taken.
Listen to the premier’s speech here (courtesy Emalahleni FM)
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