Issues of racism emerged at Grosvenor High School in Durban on Tuesday, following a very tense stand-off which ensued between the EFF Ethekwini and the police. Learners at the school were allegedly called “monkeys” and were discriminated against based on racial grounds by senior staff members.
Tensions boiled over when parents claimed that Kwazi Mshengu, Kwa Zulu-Natal MEC of Education, snubbed them and did not bother to listen to their side of the story on issues of alleged racism at the school. Mshengu was visiting the school after allegations that learners were treated unfairly because of their race. Members of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) visited the school to intervene in the matter.
Chaos erupted when an EFF member and Muzi Mahlambi, Education spokesperson, got into a scuffle over a microphone. The EFF members tried to prevent the Education MEC from talking to the learners after he had snubbed the parents who were trying to raise their concerns.
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The request by the parents and the EFF is for the accused school staff to be suspended from the school. Mshengu disputed that and said there are processes which need to be followed before a teacher can be suspended. Mshengu said, “We were going to rely on what we had discussed because we only had the RCLs (their representatives) in the meeting. Unfortunately, the EFF, true to their nature and character, believe that disruption is what will make them relevant.”
The MEC was determined to give feedback to the learners and due to the disruptions which were caused by the EFF members, police were called in to remove the EFF members.
Source: News24, Sowetan Live, image from Sowetan Live
