A disciplinary hearing against five Pinelands High School learners who were captured on video footage “selling off” their black peers as slaves has commenced.
The learners are currently on suspension after a video with the caption “Slavery at schools is crazy” went viral, where black learners are caged in what appears to be a storage space while their coloured peers pretend to auction them off to bidders.
One of the learners is heard shouting “going once, going twice, sold!”
Another mentions different prices including R2 000 and R10 000, the prices gradually increasing.
Once a learner was “sold”, he was removed from the cage and made to stand next to the learner who “bought” him.
According to the Western Cape Education Department (WCED), steps will also be taken against other learners who may have transgressed certain provisions within the code of conduct.
“The investigation has been concluded and disciplinary hearings will take place during the course of this week and next week. Steps will also be taken against other learners who may have transgressed certain provisions within the code of conduct.
“Counselling support has been prioritised, with debriefing sessions having already taken place for all Grade 8 learners, and further support for the rest of the school. The school has acted swiftly in terms of addressing the matter. The process is ongoing.
The WCED is also supplementing the counselling support,” WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said.
The outcome of the process will determine a way forward in addressing the matter further.
This matter was among three recent incidents where racism allegations surfaced at schools, including Table View High School where a substitute teacher allegedly used the K-word during a matric history lesson on black consciousness.
Diversity trainer and political analyst Asanda Ngoasheng said there was a history in the Western Cape of not dealing effectively with racism allegations.
She said such incidents were a reminder that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) work was important and urgent with deep empathy, emotional grounding and maturity, not surface level workshops that “don't address the genesis of racism, colonialism”.
“Schools that have successfully transformed have DEI policies in place, they consider diversity when hiring teachers and deciding who will and won’t be accepted at their school. They also have a diversity curriculum.”
“In post-apartheid South Africa, we failed to reconcile with our history and its impact on different groups of South Africans. If our government had implemented a diversity and social justice curriculum in 1994, we would have far fewer incidents as young people would be clear on what is right and what is wrong. In the same way that schools teach about personal hygiene, they should be teaching about our history and how not to be racist,” she said.
Cape Times