MEC to set up race probe

GAUTENG education MEC Panyaza Lesufi plans to establish an inquiry into racism at private schools in the province.

Last week, it emerged that Curro Foundation School in Roodeplaat near Pretoria was segregating pupils on claims of cultural reasons.

Speaking at the school yesterday, Lesufi warned that racism would not be tolerated.

The matter came to light two weeks ago when 10 parents submitted a petition to the school, expressing their dissatisfaction about classes made up of exclusively black pupils and others having only Afrikaans-speaking pupils who are white.

"My phone has been inundated with calls [since] this thing of Curro came out, it is not happening here only, it's widespread," said Lesufi.

He said the SA Human Rights Commission was probing the allegations at Curro.

He said he had also approached the education department's legal team regarding plans to appoint the department's own inquiry to look at private schools.

"I will not ignore the cries of African parents when they are calling me and saying we are in the same predicament in some of the top schools in the province."

Lesufi said black parents have told him that when they apply at some of the private schools, their children are taken to occupational therapists to determine whether they can be admitted at the schools. He said the Gauteng School's Act gave him the power to revoke licences of schools found to be practising racism.

Ntombi Khumalo, who has two children attending Curro school, said she was pleased that Lesufi had intervened.

"Our kids don't know colour . They need to grow up knowing kids as kids and human beings as human beings," she said.

Chief operations officer at the school, Andries Greyling, apologised for what happened and said going forward the school would change its practices.

Senior legal officer at the SA Human Rights Commission, Nicola Whittaker, told Sowetan that the commission would monitor the school to ensure that it stuck to its promises.

macupeb@sowetan.co.za

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