Pupils protest against alleged racism at Greenbury Secondary

Durban - Teaching at Greenbury Secondary has been restored after matric pupils protested against alleged racism on Friday and Monday at the school.

The school’s management met officials from the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education on Monday to address the issue and the school reopened on Tuesday.

A teacher, who declined to be named, said some pupils were upset because two teachers, who only taught isiZulu, faced dismissal because they did not want to teach other subjects.

"The matric pupils found out about this on Friday and protested. They flipped desks and threw books around. Some of the teachers tried to calmly talk to them but they would not listen."

The teacher said the school was closed on Monday as other pupils were concerned about their safety and were sent home.

A pupil, who was part of the protest, said: "The school is being unfair and racist. The Afrikaans teachers only teach Afrikaans but they want the Zulu teachers to also teach social sciences and life orientation. We became angry when we were told the teachers would be removed and we would be taught by student teachers.

“These two teachers are experienced. The student teachers are still learning how to teach. We will be the ones suffering. This is not fair. Why are the African pupils being treated differently."

The pupil said the teachers taught isiZulu to pupils from Grades 8 to 12.

"This is a lot of pupils. It is not easy. We don't want these teachers to be dismissed."

Kwazi Mthethwa, spokesperson for the Department of Education in KZN, said the school was working with the district managers to find a resolution.

"We are calling for calm. Teachers cannot decide on what subjects they want to teach. Pupils must allow the school to resolve the matter. Learning cannot be disrupted in a middle of a pandemic. We are already battling with time constraints when it comes to teaching."

The school is one of the top performing in the area. Last month, one of its pupils made the top 10 of high achievers in the National Senior Certificate Examinations in the province.

The school governing body was not available for comment.

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