TWO months after allegations surfaced of a Muslim teacher forcing Hindu pupils to remove their red Lakshmi prayer strings at Drakensberg Secondary School, the affected families have had no progress in the investigation.

Parents claim their complaints have been ignored while pupils continue to fear victimisation. The South African Hindu Maha Sabha said on Monday it had now escalated the matter to the Cultural, Religious and Linguistic (CRL) Rights Commission.

The POST broke the story on January 29.

On February 3, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education (DoE) visited the school and launched an investigation into the allegations of religious intolerance at the school.

Four parents of the alleged victims claimed they had no feedback from the school or the department about the investigation. Two of the parents said they had submitted written affidavits directly to the department while the other two handed theirs to the Escort Hindu Cultural Society. At the time the society was mediating between the parents and the school.

The parents said their children still feared victimisation if they spoke openly about the alleged incident.

“Nothing is happening with our complaints or the investigation. My daughter was given scissors to cut her red string and yet the matter is not being dealt with.

“The teacher was brazen enough to tell her to leave the class when she refused to cut her string. Now the teacher is denying the claims. My daughter initially spoke to the deputy principal about the incident and she said she would sort it out,” said the frustrated parent.

She said when the DoE visited the school, she and her daughter were not interviewed or invited to the meeting.

“The SGB asked us to write out affidavits, which we did. Some of us handed it to the Estcourt Hindu Cultural Society. The society members conducted interviews with us at our homes. But I believe that our affidavits were not given to the DoE,” said the mother.

Another parent, who gave her affidavit to the DoE officials when they visited the school, said she had also been met with radio silence.

“I handed in my child’s statement personally to the department officials. We feared a backlash and victimisation by doing this. But we still did the right thing and handed it in, just for nothing to come of it.

“I attended the February 3 meeting at the school and I questioned the teacher. But she denied everything even though there have been multiple complaints from pupils. To date nobody has told us anything about the department’s findings or even if the investigation has been concluded. We are still in the dark. Sadly, the teacher has not been reprimanded and remains at the school,” said the angry parent.

Another parent said she did not submit her affidavit because her daughter became sick with worry and feared being victimised at school.

“My daughter was too scared to say anything. Initially she wanted everything to be out there. But once she realised the teacher would not face the repercussions of her actions, she opted out. She did not believe she would get justice,” she said.

“The school told us they were having an issue with the department which was apparently not giving them any feedback from the investigation, and this was making it difficult for them to move forward. I even attempted contacting the department myself with no luck,” said the parent.

Another parent questioned the mediation and interviews conducted by the Estcourt Hindu Cultural Society.

“When the society members came to question my daughter, I noticed that one of them was biased.

“He was only focusing on the teacher’s actions and not addressing the principal’s role in allowing the issue to continue,” alleged the parent.

The POST tried contacting Sudarshan Bandu, the chairperson of the Estcourt Hindu Cultural Society, several times, with no response.

Muzi Mahlambi, the head of communications for KZN DoE, said: “We said we were going to approach this in an educative way, which we did.”

He did not elaborate further or reveal the findings of the investigation.

Professor Brij Maharaj, deputy president of the South African Hindu Maha Sabha, said they had escalated the issue to the CRL Rights Commission.

“An independent investigation into the matter was conducted by the Department of Education, and a report is imminent. Our understanding is that psychological support was offered by the department and the school governing body. However, the parents of the affected pupils had responded that this was not necessary.

“Meanwhile, the SAHMS has escalated the matter to the Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Rights Commission, whose primary focus is to ensure that ‘persons belonging to a cultural, religious or linguistic community may not be denied the right to enjoy their culture, practice their religion’,” said Maharaj.

Reverend Ethan Ramkuar, the director of the Survival Centre NPO, said he wrote to the Human Rights Commission when the allegations surfaced.

“We had initially reported the matter to the Human Rights Commission, as a matter of urgency. We haven’t received a response. We feel this is a slap in the face of pursuing justice. As a human rights activist and politician, I will never leave this unattended.

“What occurred at Drakensberg Secondary is alarming, and the Human Rights Commission’s silence on the matter is now questionable. It is very easy to determine what happened. Everyone knows who the culprit is and what transpired yet there is silence. We will be taking this matter further and will make sure we pursue justice for the pupils,” said Ramkuar.

THE POST

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Hindu red string row: parents demand justice, not silence