Cape Town — The former headmistress of Pretoria High School for Girls, Phillipa Erasmus, is now back at work after a three-month suspension over allegations of racism.
Erasmus was suspended in July this year after claims were made that she was aware of racism within the school but failed to act on it. This included an alleged WhatsApp group that contained white students only.
After claims were made about longstanding racism at the school, the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) commissioned an independent probe into incidents at the school as far back as 2016, EWN reported.
According to the report, Erasmus failed to address the concerns of racism and adopted a selective policy on discipline, while there was also a lack of transparency regarding complaints.
The report also found that some white teachers mistreated some of the admin staff, while the school’s finance manager and estate facilities manager did not follow the processes.
Gauteng MEC, Matome Chiloane said Erasmus and her deputy were reinstated despite facing misconduct charges for the findings.
“What I can tell you is that GDE is very thorough when it deals with matters of labour; we don’t lose. That one I can assure you because we are not on a witch hunt – we are firm, we know our work, and we just want people to do things right,” Chiloane said.
[WATCH]: Gauteng Education MEC @matomekopano is committed to implementing the recommendations from the independent investigative report on Pretoria High School for Girls, with a focus on fostering social cohesion within the school. pic.twitter.com/6FdKkMuyc9
— Gauteng Department of Education (@EducationGP1) November 4, 2024
According to The Citizen, the report also found that there is racism at Pretoria High School for Girls. It said that the principal, deputy principal and other staff members would be charged with misconduct.
Chiloane released the findings of the independent investigation by Mdladlamba Attorneys, who were commissioned by the department.
He said the department launched an investigation into the school after receiving reports of alleged racism in 2016, 2020 and then in 2023-24.
“I don’t tolerate racism. I hate racism because I know what it does,” Chiloane said.
The director of the law firm, Mthuthuzeli Mdladlamba said the allegations found that there was racism among pupils, with selective discipline due to race and racism between pupils and teachers, and among the teachers too.
He explained that some white teachers would not greet black colleagues as they were unsure whether or not they were teachers or cleaners. However, he could not confirm who the staff were because the teachers did not name who the teacher was and failed to greet them.
Mdladlamba said action should be taken against the principal, deputy principal, two teachers, the estate manager and HR manager because they allegedly failed to comply with obligations and committed misconduct.
The investigations found that the finance manager was appointed due to her race, while the estate facility manager, who is also white, outsourced his responsibilities of managing gardeners to a person who is also white but not employed at the school.
[WATCH]: Charles Mdladlamba, Director of Mdladlamba Attorneys, an independent investigative law firm appointed by the GDE, presented the terms of reference and key findings of their investigation. pic.twitter.com/nWnsMpPwaG
— Gauteng Department of Education (@EducationGP1) November 4, 2024
Mdladlamba said the estate facility manager did not greet black employees and used abusive language when addressing them. He also said the alleged racist WhatsApp group incident has not yet properly been dealt with.
“The pupils followed up their complaints in term two of 2024 and the response was the same – the investigation is pending,” he said,
He said the probe also found selective application of discipline.
“No action was taken against pupils who bullied another pupil. Also, a black pupil was openly bullying a white teacher and the disciplinaries didn’t apply. The principal is aware of this incident.
“Two educators committed misconduct in the classroom and have been referred for disciplinary action. A third has been referred for further investigation.”
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
