‘Heartbreaking,’ says Pretoria Girls High parent in fresh racism scandal

As Pretoria High School for Girls battles fresh allegations of racism, parents have laid bare the frustration and feelings of inadequacy experienced by their children and expressed concerns about their children’s mental wellbeing. 

Last week, a group of students held a protest to raise awareness and demand action to be taken against peers who allegedly complained about black pupils and made statements that had racial connotations and displayed microaggressions in a “whites-only” WhatsApp group. 

On Tuesday, 31 July 2024, the mood was sombre at the prestigious school, which was historically attended by whites only, but began admitting black children following the end of apartheid in 1994.

Disciplinary proceedings against 12 pupils started on Tuesday. Eight of those learners have been removed as prefects.

Outside the school, political parties protested amid a heavy public and private security presence in and around the school precinct. 

Gauteng MEC for Education Matome Chiloane visited the school and briefed the media on the latest developments in the matter. 

Chilonane said following last week’s protest, new evidence had come to light suggesting that the incident was not isolated and that there had been complaints from 2023 that some pupils were being victimised. 

As a result, the department had decided to place the principal Phillipa Erasmus on a three-month precautionary suspension.

“While we are still busy with the disciplinary process; we have taken a decision to suspend the principal of the school until we conclude this matter,” Chiloane said. 

Several black pupils who spoke to Daily Maverick on condition of anonymity due to fear of victimisation said they had seen leaked messages from the “whites-only” group suggesting that they wanted “special treatment”, are allowed to get away with things, including “having afros and dying hair” and that they should “get over apartheid” or South Africa would never move forward. 

Parents concerned

Parents Daily Maverick spoke to expressed concern at the impact of the racial connotations on their children’s emotional wellbeing. 

Jane Nyalungu, a parent of a Grade 11 pupil, said: “It is disheartening for our children at this age to have this experience. In my case, it has had a negative impact because she thinks of herself less compared to her white peers.

“I never would have imagined that we would still be having these kinds of conversations in this day, and it’s heartbreaking because we now have to do damage control and undo this,” she said. 

Nyalungu said she had received multiple complaints, some of which she had dismissed on the basis that “teenagers are problematic”. She said she had encouraged her daughter to report some of the incidents, but was shocked when no action was taken by the principal. 

“The school is quite strict in terms of acting against students who violate the code of conduct. I was taken aback when I was informed that had been done, which to me suggests she also does not see anything wrong with these problematic remarks,” Nyalungu said.

Daily Maverick asked the school questions about the fresh allegations of racism, as well as those over the years, and what had been done to address them since a protest in 2016.

The school’s marketing manager, identified as Ms KL du Toit, however, referred queries to the provincial education department.

“The school has been instructed to defer all matters pertaining to this to the GDE as they would like to deal with the media. Apologies that I cannot be of assistance,” she said. 

Basetsana Monareng, a parent of a Grade 8 pupil, said the allegations were disturbing and she was now considering moving her child to a different school, although her child had not experienced any form of racism since enrolling in the school in January.

“I was honestly taken aback by these allegations; I had hoped that after the 2016 incident that the school would have totally transformed, but it is very evident that it is far from that.

“We are still weighing our options in terms of what’s best for her, we cannot rule out the possibility – because keeping her here does not give us any guarantee that this will not happen again or that decisive action will be taken,” Monareng said. 

Read more: Pretoria Girls High: A protest against sacrificed cultures and identities 

Racism is not an event 

Asanda Ngoasheng, an academic diversity trainer, said part of the reason racial incidents occur is because South Africa has not done the work that it needed to do in the post-apartheid era. 

“We keep treating racism as if it is like an event that happens, whereas racism is an everyday experience for black people and people of colour. At any given day as a black person in SA you can and you will experience racism, in fact, you count yourself lucky on the days that you do not experience racism…”

Numerous complaints 

MEC Matome indicated that preliminary investigations had revealed that the “whites-only” WhatsApp incident was not a recent incident as it dated back to 2023. 

“There have been these complaints for sometime from last year as well that were raised by the learners. One of the whistleblowers came forward …what makes me sad is that she got victimised, but she did come forward and we were able to get evidence,” Chiloane said. 

Chiloane would not be drawn into commenting about the outcomes of the disciplinary processes against the pupils, some of whom are set to write crucial Grade 12 preliminary examinations in a month. 

“Yes, I am worried that some of the learners are matriculants, but there should be programmes structured around how the learner is supported outside the process. It should be understood that there are always repercussions for action,” he said. 

Disciplinary probe

The School Governing Body (SGB) continued with its disciplinary process against the school pupils on Wednesday and its report will be shared with the department upon completion. 

“We’ll see what happens post the disciplinary process by the SGB in this regard. But I can’t shy away from the fact that racism is a problem and racism is up there with some of the worst forms of crimes that can happen,” Chiloane said.

“Racism is just equally as bad; it’s violence to one’s psyche. These learners that experience this discrimination had to undergo counselling,” he said. 

In the racism incident in 2016, pupils staged a protest against a long-standing rule which required them to chemically straighten their hair because afro hairstyles were deemed to be untidy. 

At the time of the incident, former education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said he wanted to arrest the situation before it got out of hand. Now, eight years later, the school finds itself in the same situation. 

Read more: The kids are not okay – their innocence is being stolen by the continuation of racism

Firm hand 

Chiloane echoed Lesufi’s sentiments, saying his department needed to set a precedent. 

“I can’t be coming here to deal with this again. So, that’s why this time we are firming our hand, so the message goes out there that racism will not be tolerated in our schools in any way,” he said.

Parents also called for a harsh punishment. Nyalungu said a suitable sanction is the expulsion of the alleged perpetrators.

“If they are allowed to stay, we are likely to see these incidents manifesting in different shapes or forms; whereas if the school takes firm action, then it sends a strong message even to those who are in lower grades.”

Meanwhile, parent Monareng welcomed the stripping of the eight girls of their prefect roles and associated privileges.

“It is a step in the right direction for now, but we obviously want firm action taken,” she said. 

Diversity programme 

Following the incident, Chilonane said the department would conduct a diversity and social cohesion programme that would be regularly monitored to ensure its efficacy. It will include learners, parents and teachers. 

“These children are born after 1994, so I can’t say these children have been brought [up] in the older regime. These are kids who are born in democracy, so when these things come up, we realise that the problem may not be the children, the problem might actually be at home,” Chiloane said. 

Daily Maverick understands that parents of the 12 suspended pupils have since called in lawyers to represent their children at the disciplinary hearings and appeal for lenient sanctions, as most are due to sit for the crucial preliminary exams set to begin in September.

Another suspension 

On Wednesday afternoon, Gauteng education spokesperson Steve Mabona said another Grade 12 pupil from the school was suspended after she was allegedly seen on video making racial remarks.

The video was allegedly made in February and had since gone viral on social media.

“The Gauteng Department of Education is firmly committed to fostering a safe and inclusive environment for all learners. We take incidents of this nature very seriously and will ensure that appropriate actions are taken to address and resolve the situation,” Mabona said. DM