An amendment to Malibu High
school’s policy on hair and an apology
have been welcomed by the parents of
the girls who were “humiliated” two
weeks ago.
Following outrage after incidents, the school governing body and principal met parents to address the hair concerns.
WCED spokesperson, Bronagh Hammond, said the school was reviewing its policy.
“The caretaker will face a disciplinary hearing regarding the comments allegedly made. He is an SGB appointee.”
The caretaker was recorded saying the pupils “were not born with Afros” and “only apes and bears were born with Afros. Were you born with that hair?”.
Hammond confirmed that further investigations into comments made by one of the teachers were under way.
She said it was the school’s responsibility to decide on its code of conduct for hairstyles and dress.
MALIBU High School pupils protest after they were suspended for having “untidy” hair. Ayanda Ndamane African News Agency (ANA)
“The department cannot dictate their policies, as this would be against the SA Schools Act. The WCED can, and has, requested that the school review its code of conduct.
“Schools should review their codes of conduct periodically to ensure that they achieve their purpose in line with the constitution while taking into account ongoing discussion on what codes of conduct should require,” she said.
Disciplinary action against pupils was also provisionally withdrawn earlier this week.
Grade 11 pupil Sibabalwe Dayeni said she was happy her school was reviewing the policy and hoped that this meant mutual respect and appreciation of one’s culture and heritage would be practised.
“We need to find a way to live in harmony and respect each other and our heritage. We will wait and see the outcome of the policy review,” she said.
Parent Zoleka Stephans confirmed to Weekend Argus that the meeting held at the school was “positive and fruitful”.
“The principal apologised for his part in the matter and was clearly remorseful for his actions. He has withdrawn the letters given to our children and has accepted that he may have acted in an unacceptable manner. He explained that he was not trying to be racist, but understood how his actions could have been misconstrued to be as such,” she said.
Angry Malibu High School kids protest after learners were suspended for having untidy hair. Picture: Ayanda Ndamane / African News Agency (ANA)
Stephans also said she was happy that parents, the SGB and the school would all be involved in the process of reviewing the school’s hair policy.
In 2016, pupils at Sans Souci Girls’ High School joined scores of other pupils around the country who called for discriminatory codes of conduct on hair and language to be scrapped.
This came after pupils at Pretoria Girl’s High School protested against the school’s discriminatory hair policy. Girls at Sans Souci were also being penalised for speaking their home languages or having natural hair on school grounds.