Our schools should be models for promoting and supporting antiracism. This was the gist of a piece in the Sunday Times penned by Teresa Oakley-Smith (https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/opinion-and-analysis/opinion/2022-02-20-uproot-racism-in-schools-with-two-simple-steps/), who shared her thoughts on racial conflict boiling over at Hoërskool Jan Viljoen in Randfontein, west of Johannesburg. Unfortunately, upon reading Oakley-Smith’s piece, our tainted history seems to be repeating itself again and again. She writes about a “sickening sense of déjà vu” after being involved in attempts to resolve racial disharmony at Vryburg High School way back in 1996 — and again two years later, when nothing had changed.

The unrest at Hoërskool Jan Viljoen was sparked after a fight between white and black children more than a week ago and has clearly brought to the fore historical simmering tensions. The actions of the pupils accused of hurling racial slurs at their fellow pupils are shameful. But perhaps even more concerning was the behaviour of the adults involved in this saga, ranging from both black and white parents to Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi. Instead of the adults pursuing mature ways of resolving the conflict, they have just made matters worse...