Beyond schoolyard violence: confronting SA’s racial tensions

Recent violent incidents in South African schools highlight the persistent racial tensions that continue to plague the education system. PROFESSOR MURTHEE MAISTRY examines how apartheid's legacy manifests in today's classrooms and offers practical solutions for fostering integration and healing in school communities

VIOLENCE in South African schools is becoming a more regular phenomenon. While it is not peculiar to South Africa, research indicates that perpetrators are usually disgruntled individuals who use schools as sites to vent their frustrations. School shootings in the USA are a case in point.

However, the recent violence at Glenover Secondary School, in Chatsworth, appeared to have started off as a relatively minor confrontation between school pupils on a soccer field. What is particularly disturbing is that adults not directly related to the school deliberately orchestrated and escalated the altercation beyond a scuffle into extremely violent action involving weapons.

If this were a premeditated stabbing of young children and was led by a parent and other non-schoolers, then the full might of the law must take its course, and the culprits have to be brought to book. While it is not clear what the extent of the injuries was, these could well have been five deaths with far-reaching consequences for racial conflict in what can be described as vulnerable school communities, where different races are still trying to work out how to co-exist.

Both the official response from the KZN Department of Education and the media coverage have labelled this as racially motivated violence. The racial dimension to this incident cannot be ignored and is indeed a cause for concern. In a country still reeling from racial identities imposed by its former colonial rulers, racial identity continues to be the first marker of offender and victim. It is very difficult to escape this default perception. So retaliatory acts of violence in fragile post-race societies like South Africa require careful diagnosis and intervention.

That four black pupils were attacked by people who were Indian adults suggests that there are deep racial issues still at play in South African society. The brutal killing of over 30 black people in Phoenix by vigilante Indians during the civil unrest in 2021 is a stark reminder that racist behaviour is prevalent among some sectors of the Indian community. What is clear is that our dark apartheid legacy continues to haunt us. We must remember that segregated education, unequal resourcing of schools, and institutionalised racism left deep scars.

Many schools remain divided along racial and class lines, which sustains inequalities and resentment. Spatial segregation is still very evident, as townships, suburbs, and rural areas still reflect apartheid’s geography. Although thousands of African pupils commute from previously African residential areas to former Indian schools in suburbs like Chatsworth and Phoenix, this physical separation, as it relates to actual dwelling and not living as equal members of a community, has the effect of shaping pupils' daily experiences in ways that limit interracial interaction.

While the South African Schools Act rightfully declared that all public schools should be open to all races, the Department of Education has shown little capacity and basic know-how as to how to successfully racially integrate previously segregated schools. What is evident is that school principals, school teachers, parents and pupils have had to work this out for themselves with varying degrees of success.

Teacher bias and discrimination are not uncommon in post-race societies. In fact, teachers may unconsciously (or overtly) reinforce racial stereotypes, fail to intervene in racial incidents, or avoid addressing racism directly in the classroom. Research on the racial integration of schools indicates that in the post-apartheid era, not all privileged, well-resourced schools embraced the spirit of sharing. Richer ex-Model C schools use high school fees to strategically exclude pupils, allowing admission to only certain economic classes.

Former Indian and coloured schools that benefitted from the Tricameral system and the funding that came with it were, at the time, well-run institutions with functioning libraries, computer rooms, science laboratories and qualified teaching personnel. These schools charged minimal fees and were attractive to African parents seeking better learning spaces for their children.

In the past 30 years, the clientele of former Indian schools has changed dramatically in terms of their racial profiles. As Indian and coloured middle classes migrated to affluent former white public schools, their places were taken up by black pupils. Research on the daily commute of black pupils as they use public transport to reach Indian schools in former Indian townships reflects the numerous hardships that such pupils face, including bullying and peer pressure.

It is not unusual to expect that racialised bullying can escalate into violence, often justified as "jokes" or "banter" but rooted in deep prejudice. Young black pupils negotiate belonging and status in environments where racial hierarchies are still informally present. Racial tensions and racially motivated offences are bound to recur in South Africa. At a school and community level, what is required is a core group of concerned individuals to harness the resources in the Indian and African parent communities (in this instance) to engage in practical ways that can work for them and their children.

Joint school forums can be set up to address fears, build trust, and reduce the racialised narratives pupils bring from home. Young pupils are immensely resourceful and agentic and can be guided to lead anti-racism initiatives. Schools could establish pupil councils focused on inclusion and equity, where African and Indian pupils co-design anti-racism campaigns, assemblies, or cultural events.

Research shows that when schools engage in whole-school anti-racism policies and make such values integral to the school curriculum, such experiences are indeed positive moves in the direction of racial harmony.

The Department of Basic Education has to strengthen its oversight role so that racial incidents in schools are documented, investigated, and acted upon, rather than left to school discretion. Teacher professional development should equip school leaders and teachers to call out racism, facilitate difficult conversations, and model inclusive behaviours. Racial violence in South African schools is a symptom of worrying underlying racial intolerance issues.

It is not only a product of interpersonal hostility between pupils but is deeply rooted in structural inequality, untransformed school cultures, and the reproduction of prejudice across generations. Schools often mirror wider societal tensions, making them flashpoints for racial conflict. Having said this, there are also remarkable examples of how wider society, especially in the arena of national sports like soccer, cricket, and rugby, has helped unite South Africans. There certainly is much hope. 

Professor Suriamurthee Maistry is a decolonial and critical curriculum Scholar in the School of Education at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media. 

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