George Randell pupils detail grievances in petition

Frustrated George Randell High School pupils have gone public with an online petition alleging “social injustices” at the school.

According to the petition, cases of racism, “inadequate” education and almost non-existent extracurricular activities, educational inequalities and mismanagement of the curriculum under the coronavirus pandemic have plagued the school.

The group of pupils, who spoke to the Dispatch on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation,  said the petition aimed to “raise awareness among the public, parents and past and present pupils, and to bring an end to these social injustices”.

“There have been many occasions which have occurred at the school, where a teacher reprimanded black learners about their hair. This happened to both male and female learners,” the petition reads. 

One pupil said: “We are told our natural hair is inappropriate and that if we wear braids our afros are not allowed to show.

“It’s as if they’re telling us not to be ourselves,” she said.

The Dispatch sent questions to the school principal, CJ Grobler, and asked for comment on the allegations.

The principal had not responded at the time of writing on  Tuesday.

A pupil recalled being reprimanded by a teacher: “She continued to shout at me in Afrikaans even though I told her, calmly, that I didn’t understand the language.

“What made the matter worse was that other teachers joined in and scolded me in Afrikaans,” he said. 

The petition said the school had no extramural activities yet pupils were required to participate in sporting activities.

One pupil said: “I’m a Border  representative and I had to fend for myself to get my sporting qualifications.

“My parents had to make sure I attended extra practices in order for me to represent the province.”

“If you want something done at George Randell you have to actively do it and hustle for yourself. There is no assistance at all.” 

According to the pupils, the school has had no physical science teacher for grades 10 and 11 since the beginning of the academic year.

The petition accused the school of mismanaging the academic curriculum during the pandemic.

“From July 13 to July 24, learners were given their subject timetables and teachers who would be teaching those subjects.

“It’s quite clear that the timetable was a facade because no adequate learning took place. Teachers were absent and there was a lot of ambiguity,” the petition reads.

The pupils also accused the school of “depriving learners from doing their home language, isiXhosa,” as there were not enough classes allocated to the subject.

One parent said her child was living with depression.

“I’ve made countless requests to the school asking if my child can take the [isiXhosa] class as she enjoys the subject and is good at it.”

 She confirmed there was no physical science teacher.

“The last meeting we had as parents with the school prior to the lockdown wasn’t fruitful. Instead, we were undermined.” 

The SGB said it did not know about the petition.

Questions sent to  education spokesperson Loyiso Pulumani  had not been answered by print deadline on Tuesday.

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