Cape Town — A Welkom school in Free State has been the subject of racism following a video that was circulating on social media of a white learner suffocating a black learner, while a teacher allegedly watched and did nothing.
The video showed the two pupils from Welkom Technical High School brawling on the floor of a classroom, while other children also stood around and watched. As the video rolls on, the fighting continues and a voice can be heard screaming “Nee!” numerous times as the video shows some of the pupils’ reactions.
According to The Citizen, the father of the black pupil laid criminal charges and was in the process of suing the school for failing to prevent the assault on his son. He accused the teacher of only trying to stop the fight once his son fought back.
“The footage shows that when he fought back, it was only when she intervened. Clearly, it’s racial. While he was attacked, she just stood there and watched.”
A Welkom school is facing allegations of racism, after footage emerged of a teacher standing by while a boy is strangled. pic.twitter.com/n7l17y0NCp
— City Press (@City_Press) September 7, 2023
News24 reported that The Free State Department of Education is investigating the incident and the allegations of racism, bullying, and assault.
The fight was captured in a “harrowing video which is circulating on social media”, said department spokesperson Howard Ndaba.
“It is alleged that during the brawl this teacher was biased towards the other learner. The department condemned all acts of ill-discipline, racism, criminality, violence, and bullying in our schools,” said Ndaba.
Free State Education MEC Makalo Mohale expressed shock at the “penchant for violence at schools”.
“School safety is a societal issue. We need to pull all stops and work together as parents, SGBs, teachers, learners, and other stakeholders to stop violence at our schools,” he said.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
