Effingham Secondary under fire: claims of religious discrimination and dress code violations

PARENTS are demanding urgent intervention from the KZN Department of Education after Effingham Secondary allegedly barred multiple pupils from entering due to uniform violations, forcing some children to wait unsupervised outside school gates all day.

Muslim pupils claim religious discrimination while others cited inconsistent enforcement of the dress code.

The parents alleged that during the first week of school reopening, their children’s lives were endangered as they were forced to return home by foot, or wait outside the school until their transporters arrived in the afternoon.

They said while they understood and respected that the code of conduct - it should apply to all pupils. 

The mother of a Grade 10 pupil, said she had since written a formal complaint to the Department of Education in KwaZulu-Natal calling for an intervention. 

“The conduct of the school was both unlawful and unconstitutional, which resulted in multiple pupils being denied access to education and placed at risk. We have reported it to the education department due to the gravity of the violations, the systemic nature of the conduct, and the failure to uphold the constitutional and statutory obligations owed to pupils.”

The mother said last Wednesday, several pupils including her son, were refused entry by a security guard acting on behalf of the school, for various reasons. 

“Muslim male pupils were denied access for not being clean-shaven, with no reasonable accommodation for religious beliefs. Pupils, such as my son, who had the same haircut and grooming style as in the previous academic year were also abruptly denied entry. 

“There was inconsistent, selective, and arbitrary enforcement of the code of conduct, as some pupils with similar uniforms and grooming were allowed entry into the school while others were excluded. Pupils whose trousers differed only slightly in shade of grey were also refused entry,” she claimed.

The mother added that reasonable alternatives were available.

“They could have allowed the pupils into class and issued written notices to parents. Instead, our children were point-blank refused entry. They were also not permitted to contact their parents or guardians, and those who relied on scholar transport were forced to remain outside the school premises for the entire day – until 2:30pm. The children were left outside school premises for the full day without access to education, adequate supervision, or protection. The school failed in its duty to provide care and safety for the children.” 

The mother said the parents were calling on the education department to investigate the incident urgently. 

“We call on the department to issue directives on preventing exclusion for uniform issues, provide reasonable accommodation of religious practices, restrict security guards from denying entry, and ensure lawful, consistent application of school policies.

“Should this matter not be adequately addressed, we reserve the right to approach the South African Human Rights Commission, the Provincial Education Ombudsman, and other relevant authorities,” she said. 

Meanwhile, the mother of a Grade 9 pupil said she was appalled by the manner in which the children were treated.

She said her daughter was refused entry to the school due to her skirt being “too short”. 

“My daughter’s skirt ends just above her knee, no different from last year, but she was not allowed to enter the school. Thankfully, we live nearby and she could walk home. Her grandmother had to open the hem of the skirt. But, at the same time, there were other girls allowed into the school with even shorter skirts. While we do respect the rules of the school, one rule should apply for all and there should not be double standards.” 

The father of a Grade 10 pupil, said he was left feeling frustrated as he had to put up a fight outside the school for his son to be allowed in. 

“My son’s hair was apparently not according to the school's requirement. Luckily, I had not left and had been watching him. When he got to the gate and after a few seconds, he turned around and walked towards me. When he told me what happened, I approached the security guard and asked him why were only some children being told to go home and not others. There were girls walking in with fancy hairstyles, short skirts and even make up, while some of the boys wore the wrong colour pants or type of shoes. Why were they not turned away? I refused to move until my son was allowed to enter. 

“For me, this is absolutely unacceptable. We pay school fees for our children to get the education,  not to be left outside the school under no supervision. If something is wrong, contact the parents first, these are children, our children. We will not tolerate this type of behaviour,” he said. 

The Department of Education in KZN and the school’s governing body did not comment at the time of publishing.