DA condemns assault at Overvaal High School
17 January 2018
The DA condemns the violence that broke out at Overvaal High School in Vereeniging and particularly the physical altercation between a parent and EFF protesters.
We urge parents to refrain from antagonizing demonstrators and that the demonstrators exercise restraint in expressing their views. We further call for calm at the school.
The tensions follow a verdict that was delivered by Judge Prinsloo of the Pretoria High Court on Monday. The verdict blocked the Gauteng Education Department from forcibly enrolling 55 English pupils at the school where Afrikaans is the medium of instruction. Judge Prinsloo determined that the department didn’t adequately assess the school’s capacity to accommodate learners before seeking to overrule its language policy.
We call on the department to engage with the school in order to find common ground. If the school has capacity to accommodate the learners, the department must commit the necessary resources and learners must be placed. Integration at schools is important and it should be planned in a manner that does not compromise learning. Where schools are requested to accommodate learners, those schools must be capacitated to do so.