ALLEGATIONS of religious intolerance at a Durban North high school have surfaced, with several teachers boycotting the morning assembly due to the “dominance of Christian religious practices”.
The teachers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said for the past two months Hindu teachers at Northwood Boys had embarked on the boycott after making repeated appeals for reforms in the observance of the Christian-dominant religious practice at the school. In addition, they claimed that their call for constructive engagement had a long history, with teachers calling for engagement to remedy the “biased religious observations” as far back as August 2022.
One teacher alleged in recent years, the dominance of religious practices had intensified with constant Christian prayers being conducted during the morning assembly.
“The affected teachers sit in their classrooms when the assembly is held every Monday morning. They feel disrespected that they are being happily side-lined during an important part of the school day. They wish to also have their religious observance practised at the assembly.
“It is also no longer only in the assembly where this prevails but in the staffroom, school social gatherings, and even in the form of tangible Christian scripture visible at the entrance to the school hall, a practice that contravenes the Department of Basic Education’s policy,” said the teacher. The teacher further claimed diverse religious prayer observances were not allowed for or accommodated at the school.
“The prayer and reading at the start of assembly is sourced exclusively from the Bible, with no acceptance of other religious scriptural books being allowed to be read from,” the teacher claimed. Despite raising their concerns with the school governing body (SGB), principal and education department, nothing had been done, the teacher said.
“However, in an emailed response from the SGB chairperson, we were told that the ‘Christian ethos of the school is to remain’. Upon receiving this email, the aggrieved teachers met with the principal expressing their unhappiness with the biased approach of the school, also stating their intention to regrettably boycott the assembly that denied them their right to their religious observance. Nothing was done again.
“The matter was also escalated to the KwaZulu-Natal School Education Management (SEM) for the Umlazi District in November last year. We still haven’t had any feedback from the education department on the matters of grievance raised,” claimed the teacher.
Another teacher added that they were asking that the scriptural readings and prayers be tolerant and inclusive in practices.
“We are calling for interfaith observances where both the readings and prayers are taken from a diversity of religious scriptures such as the Torah, Bhagavad Gita, Qur’an, Thirukurral, Thiruppugazh, Thevaram, Tripitaka, and Bible. If they are not able to include these, then there should be a universal prayer or a silent prayer of reflection.
“It is also unfortunate that two months have passed with several teachers still boycotting the assembly, yet the school happily accepts their absence and are yet to engage with the aggrieved teachers to bring an amicable solution that respects the diverse religious faith observance for all stakeholders at the school.”
A third teacher added that their right to religious freedom was being denied 31-years into South Africa’s democracy.
“This, despite living in a constitutional democracy that ensures multi-faith observation, practice and prayer in accommodating the diverse strands of religious identity in South Africa.”
A fourth teacher said they felt insulted.
“Why are our religious beliefs and culture not taken into consideration? It is an absolute insult to us who have served at the school for many years. But we never had this problem until recently.
“This religious intolerance will not be accepted. We live in a country that has citizens of various religious groups, and that needs to be embraced, not only in schools but in society at large.”
According to the teachers, the school has 20 Hindu, two Muslim and 80 Christian teachers.
“There are 1 475 pupils – with about 500 believed to be Muslim and Hindu,” they added.
Gina Klingbeil, head of marketing and communication at the school, said in an email they had discussions with the KZN Department of Education (DoE) and believed it was best “to allow them to provide guidance on this matter”.
“As always, we are committed to working collaboratively with the DoE to ensure the best outcomes and experiences for our pupils and the community which we serve,” she said.
She said that all the allegations raised had already been discussed in open and formal meetings at school, and with departmental officials.
The Department of Education said it was investigating the allegations.
Vee Gani, chairperson of the Parents Association of KZN, said this was not the first time they heard of such complaints where schools pushed a particular religious ethos, which some children did not ascribe or belong to.
“Some of these schools have this ethos because it has been engrained over the years. But it must be noted that the dynamics of the education system have changed.”
He said children had different religious beliefs, and some who were also atheists.
“They are protected by the Constitution, which guarantees a person’s right to religious freedom. You cannot coerce somebody, directly or indirectly, to observe or accept a religious practice with which they do not agree with. You also can’t give preference to one religion, especially in a public school setting.
“Therefore, if a school is pushing a particular religious ethos, it will be unconstitutional and illegal.”
Thirona Moodley, the chief executive officer of the National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of SA in KZN, said schools should be tolerant of all religions.
“Section 7 of the South African Schools Act regulates the freedom of conscience and religion at public schools. No one religion should be favoured or singled out as opposed to other religions,” she said.