A female teacher at the Fred Norman Secondary School in Ennerdale, south of Johannesburg has been suspended following an altercation with a pupil’s grandparent.
In a video clip that went viral on social media, the teacher can be heard swearing and calling the grandparent trash. The teacher goes on to say that she does not like coloured people.
In a voice note recorded by the grandmother, she can be heard saying she had, on several occasions, requested a meeting with the teacher but was told to book an appointment.
The grandmother also wanted to know why her granddaughter, in grade 11, has been banished from attending lessons taught by the suspended teacher.
On Monday, angry residents met with the school governing body and called for the teacher’s dismissal, a move that forced the provincial department of education to launch an investigation into the matter.
The spokesperson for the department, Steve Mabona, has called on the teachers to be exemplary and to always maintain good conduct.
“We also implore parents to use appropriate channels to address their grievances rather than resorting to other platforms. Schools are institutions of learning and they should be treated as such,” said Mabona.
Meanwhile, the school has appealed to the public to allow normal teaching and learning to continue. In a statement, the school said: “The school has been supported by the district office, SA Democratic Teachers Union and other stakeholders as they give attention to the matter.”
The MEC for Education, Panyaza Lesufi is currently at the school. He said he personally felt that someone of her caliber shouldn’t be a teacher and that he was deeply disturbed by her utterances.
[WATCH] @EducationGP1 MEC @Lesufi assured the community of Ennerdale today that the racism portrayed by the Fred Norman Sec School educator towards a parent in the altercation that took place on Friday, 12 August 2022, will not be tolerated and must be uprooted. | @Steve_Mabona pic.twitter.com/N5Cv0w2r70
— Gauteng Department of Education (@EducationGP1) August 16, 2022
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