Pretoria Girls High SGB Sues Gauteng Education Dep. Over Racism Controversy

The School Governing Body (SGB) of Pretoria High School for Girls (PHSG) has initiated legal proceedings against the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) and the MEC for Education, Matome Chiloane.

This action was taken on Monday, with the SGB arguing that the scope of the investigation conducted by Madladlamba Attorneys exceeded its mandate by addressing issues beyond the initial racism allegations.

Pretoria Girls High SGB Demands

The SGB is demanding the release of the investigation findings, which were announced by Chiloane on November 4 but have not yet been disclosed to the school. This legal dispute arises from accusations of racism within the school, which the SGB claims are unsubstantiated.

The controversy began when 12 white students, including eight prefects, were suspended in July for allegedly making racist comments in a WhatsApp group.

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The students allegedly discussed the dissatisfaction among black students regarding their experiences at the school, with claims that these grievances were dismissed as trivial. Despite these allegations, the students were found not guilty and reinstated following an independent disciplinary hearing.

However, GDE officials insisted on pursuing charges of racism against the matriculating students. The school’s principal, Phillipa Erasmus, and deputy principal, Doret Schoombie, were also suspended.

Thabo Mbeki Foundation’s Criticism

In response to the controversy, the Thabo Mbeki Foundation penned a letter to the MEC, criticising the Gauteng Department of Education’s handling of the matter. The foundation stated, “We ourselves have also closely studied the comments made by the chat group, independently, to determine whether these constituted manifestations of racism and hate speech. Our own firm conclusion is that there is no such manifestation [of racism] in the said comments.”

The SGB emphasised that an internal disciplinary tribunal also cleared the students. In a statement, the SGB accused the GDE of continuing an “entirely unjustified and groundless witch hunt for further examples of racism,” despite professing to respect the tribunal’s outcome.

According to the governing body, the department head had stated on September 3 that the investigation aimed to determine if there was cause for concern at the school and that it should conclude if no racism was found.

Despite this limited scope, the attorneys proceeded to investigate other matters after finding minimal evidence of racism, citing only that “white educators do not greet their black colleagues.” The SGB described these findings as “so vague, unproven, and unprovable that it doesn’t belong in any self-respecting report.”

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Criticism of Chiloane’s Actions

The governing body also criticised Chiloane for not allowing the school an opportunity to review or respond to the allegations before publicly announcing the findings. The SGB stressed that racism has no place in the school and that such allegations leave an “indelible stain.”

The statement asserted, “It is abhorrent to all right-thinking South Africans, and it is abhorrent to the school.”

The SGB defended its decision to appoint an independent advocate to chair the disciplinary tribunal, which the department’s report later criticized. The SGB maintained that this decision was made to ensure fairness, given the controversial nature of the proceedings.

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