THE KwaZulu-Natal education portfolio committee has called for a thorough investigation into ugly scenes that played out between pupils and security personnel at the Effingham Secondary School in Durban last week.
It was reported that classes were suspended on Friday after a fight broke out on the school grounds on Wednesday amid unconfirmed racism allegations.
KZN Education Head of Department, Nathi Ngcobo, reportedly said that while they were not sure what led to the fight, they understood that a fight broke out between two Grade 12 girls on Wednesday. When the teachers tried to separate them some boys entered the fray and chaos broke out.
The education portfolio committee has reacted to the scenes, saying it is shocked and disgusted at the alleged racism and the handling of the pupils who were on a peaceful strike.
“We are disturbed very much by the video that has gone viral showing a confrontation between the learners and security personnel.
“We are more than disturbed by alleged racism in the school. It is our view that the department must immediately investigate these allegations and act in accordance with the law.
“We have a great interest in seeing that racism in any form in our schools and society in general must be eliminated in all its forms”, said chairperson of the committee Sifiso Sonjica.
“The committee further condemns the mishandling of learners by security personnel. The committee calls for a thorough investigation. Tough action must be taken against anyone who may have acted irresponsibly as such acts may have led to violence which would have caused serious damage to school property and to the lives of the pupils.
“We therefore have called the department to furnish the committee with an urgent report on all of these matters,” Sonjica said.
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