Durban - The Congress of South African Students (Cosas) says there should be no element of racism in schools and those found to be racist should be dealt with.
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Education Mbali Frazer visited Hillcrest High School on Thursday to address the issues raised by pupils related to an incident where five pupils are accused of using racial slurs, including the K word, to describe black pupils in a private WhatsApp group.
Lwazi Nhlumayo, deputy chairperson of Cosas, speaking outside a meeting, said using racist language is illegal and should be dealt with in accordance with the law.
“We want to send a clear message that there should be no racists in this school and if the department cannot deal with the racists, we will deal with the racists directly.
“It’s a known fact that calling someone the K word is illegal, so we will take it a step further by laying charges if we are not satisfied with the manner the school or the department handles it,” he said.
Frazer described the derogatory and racist behaviour alleged at Hillcrest High School in the outer west of Durban as shocking and unacceptable.
The MEC said there would be an inquiry to look into the allegations and resolutions would be provided in a week.
“Everything that was said by the learners was shocking and saddening. We cannot keep racists in our department and we will not allow racism in our schools.”