SADTU STATEMENT ON RACISM AT CURRO FOUNDATION SCHOOL

3 February 2015

SADTU is calling for a national commission of enquiry into racism in schools following reports of racism at Curro Foundation School.

The South African Democratic Teachers' Union (SADTU) strongly condemns the racist practices at Curro Foundation School and is calling for a national commission of enquiry into racism in schools as we believe the practice still exists in some Former Model C and independent schools.

 Many lives were lost in South Africa in the fight against segregation we therefore cannot allow racism to raise it ugly head again. One of the purposes of education is to build social cohesion; it cannot be   used to tear us apart. If such incidents happen in schools, we need to ensure Government take harsh steps against them.

Independent schools in South Africa should understand that they do not exist in a vacuum but in a country that has a tragic history. They should therefore do all to ensure that we do not go back to the past but build an integrated South Africa. 

We further call on government to review the funding of independent school as we believe education should not be privatized, nor commercialized. The funding of independent schools should, instead be channeled towards building public schools infrastructure. We reject the growing numbers of independent schools in South Africa whilst we still have to address immense inequalities in our society. Education is a public good and it must be treated as such.

Our call for history to be a compulsory subject in our schools remains relevant and correct given these ugly incidents of racism in our schools. It will assist all of us understand where the country comes from and what lessons to learn moving forward. This matter cannot be postponed if we are to realize common citizenship. Education has a responsibility to teach our people to live together as one and discrimination undermines common citizenry 

Statement issued by SADTU, February 3 2015

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