Bloemfontein – The SA Human Rights Commission has found a Bloemfontein school’s staff guilty of hate speech towards black and coloured pupils.
“The commission found against the principal and staff at Dr Viljoen Combined School in a racism case,” SAHRC spokesman Isaac Mangena said on Wednesday.
The SAHRC investigated allegations that pupils at the school were exposed to dehumanising and racist treatment by staff, including the principal, in May 2013.
Children at the school alleged staff called them racist, derogatory and belittling names, such as “k*****s, baboons, monkeys, and little black b*****s”.
Mangena said the commission found the remarks clearly constituted hate speech as defined by the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act.
“These acts of hate speech constitute a clear violation of both the right to equality and hate speech of the learners,” he said.
Free State education department spokesman Howard Ndaba said the department welcomed the SAHRC report.
“We will make sure we implement the recommendations of the report.”
He said no one had approached the department to complain of racism at the school, and when it tried to probe the matter the department could not find anyone who was willing to give evidence…
South Africa Today – South Africa News
