Seven years after the birth of what Desmond Tutu dubbed the Rainbow Nation, incidents of racism continue to surface at schools in South Africa, writes Edwin Naidu
The exodus of black pupils into once whites-only schools has not been an harmonious process, like in the song Ebony and Ivory.
The number of high-profile racial incidents at schools throughout the country is just a tip of the iceberg, according to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). Examples of recent racial incidents published in the Education Foundation publication Edusource confirm that many pupils are not living together in perfect harmony. Eastern Cape: In Port Elizabeth, a coloured learner was fatally stabbed by a black learner during an argument .
Gauteng: At Bryanston High School, three white learners who had been expelled by the school governing body over a racial assault on a fellow learner were readmitted to the school after intervention by the Gauteng Department of Education because the learners showed remorse. The principal had allegedly shouted at the assaulted pupil. At Ho’rskool Pretoria Wes, black and white learners clashed over electing black pupils to the prefect body. Classes were disrupted and a violent confrontation occurred. Mpumalanga: Sakhile, a grade 4 black pupil at Clivia Primary School in Nelspruit, was assaulted by a group of white classmates after being accused of stealing marbles. The child was pelted with stones and had a bucket of paint poured over his head. North West: Two black pupils were allegedly assaulted by two white pupils during a matric farewell at Vryburg High School.
A Centre for Education Policy Development (CEPD) study shows that North West schools have had a number of racial incidents involving physical violence, especially among pupils. Racist comments have been a major source of conflict between learners. And racial clashes at some North West schools have led to fatalities. That these incidents still occur seven years after the miracle birth of democracy in South Africa is cause for concern, according to Andre Keet, head of education and training at the SAHRC.
Several recommendations from a conference to probe racism in schools, organised by the commission two years ago, are being implemented, Keet says. However, the main focus in the thrust against classroom conflict is the National Action Plan and Strategy to Combat Racism.
The aim of the plan is to give teeth to the South African Millennium Statement on Racism and Programme of Action adopted at the National Conference on Racism in September last year.
At the conference, the government and parliament were asked to declare the period 2001 to 2010 as the decade for national mobilisation against racism. Parliament approved the proposal in March. Project co-ordinator Russell Ally says December 16 – the Day of Reconciliation – will be used annually to map out how far South Africa has progressed with regard to dealing with racism.
He says the CEPD will draw up a race barometer, and the Human Sciences Research Council will conduct a survey to gauge public feelings on racism. Ally is currently involved in getting government departments to spell out what they intend doing to fight racism. “Our goal is to build a country that is fair to all its citizens and to all who live in it, and to promote true reconciliation,” he says.
Tutu’s Rainbow Nation notion may have been premature, but the consolidated nature of the plan for the decade of activity offers more tangible hope of South Africans uniting in the long term.
— The Teacher/M&G Media, Johannesburg, May, 2001.