Panyaza Lesufi says education department will root out racism ‘whether people like it or not’

Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi on Sunday committed to rooting out racism in schools during a meeting with parents at Hoërskool Jan Viljoen in Randfontein.

The MEC met the parents and management of the school to hear and address their concerns amid allegations of racism and racial tensions at the school.

Lesufi described the engagements with pupils and teachers as a “difficult” and “painful” exercise he regrets.

The MEC said children must never be exposed to a situation where they are afraid of going to school because they will be discriminated against and made to feel like second-class citizens. 

He said children who had ancestral callings were discriminated against, and some were discriminated against for speaking their home languages.

“This country, this school, belong to all of us. There is no inch of this country that belongs to other people. Our purpose is to ensure we deliver quality education and save our children from the trauma of racism. We will not breed new racists in this school.

“We are determined to build a nonracial SA whether people like it or not. It starts in the classroom. If it can’t start there, we are never going to build a nonracial SA,” said the MEC.

Lesufi said he met with teachers who pledged their commitment to equality and nonracialism but also opened up about their difficulty teaching black pupils as they had never taught them before. 

The MEC said he was assured that while the school functions effectively, teachers required assistance to ensure transformation.

“They felt they need assistance and support to manage diversity and the new environment in which find themselves with children they have not taught before. What they emphasised is that Jan Viljoen is a functional school struggling to manage diversity and going through a transitional process.”

Lesufi said he was encouraged by the pledge made by teachers to aid transformation at the school.

He said the school had agreed to ensure the teacher population reflected a balance to ensure smooth running.