AfriForum said the Gauteng Department of Education was undermining the School Governing Body (SGB) at Pretoria High School for Girls by launching an independent investigation after 12 pupils had been cleared of racism allegations.
A three-day disciplinary hearing conducted by the SGB found no misconduct by the 12 suspended learners.
The girls were cleared of charges related to violence, bullying, disruptive behaviour, and violation of school rules due to insufficient evidence.
The department stated that it respects the SGB's outcomes but will be launching an independent investigation to determine whether a culture of racism exists at the school.
The 12 learners will not be investigated.
Reacting to the department’s announcement, AfriForum said the department’s investigation was a conspicuous attempt to undermine the authority of the SGB.
AfriForum’s head of Cultural Affairs, Alana Bailey, said these events have illustrated once more that some education authorities have an agenda against school governing bodies.
“While the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Bill is still on the President’s desk, incidents like this one at the school in Pretoria are inflated to create the impression that democratically elected school governing bodies are enemies of quality education and the rights of learners,” said Bailey.
“What makes it even worse is that the events take place at a time when matriculants are preparing for exams and are already exposed to extreme pressure,” she added.
The civic organisation said it condemns any political interference in schools and attempts to discredit legitimate actions by governing bodies.
“Apart from this incident, we are increasingly hearing about governing bodies being pressured by provincial education authorities to change Afrikaans schools’ language policies.
“Furthermore, the authorities do not build sufficient schools, as a result of which governing bodies are unfairly blamed by parents when children do not get a place in schools. The departments also take a long time to investigate complaints submitted by governing bodies.
"Instead of treating these community representatives like valued partners, they are often made into scapegoats for the education departments’ failures,” Bailey added.
sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za
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