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The Gauteng IFP is sickened by the reported racial discrimination doing the rounds at schools in Gauteng; this comes after the Star reported a case in which a grade 3 pupil was racially discriminated by his music teacher because he wore red strings in his wrists, as part of his Hindu religion, at Parkadene Primary School in Boksburg.

The IFP in the province finds it hard to contemplate the fact that a teacher who is suppose to take up parenting role during school hours would act in such a diabolic and alarming manner. Goings as far as racketing racial and derogatory slurs at the child demonstrates the dwindling humanistic culture in our society and should not be tolerated.

IFP Caucus Leader in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) Bonginkosi Dhlamini said: “This unendurable action by the teacher is a regressive sign of racial battles still protruding in our society, and strict measures needs to be taken against those who still wish to use their delegated position to blatantly attack innocent children because of their race and religion.

These actions are not only evoking racial battles but putting the children’s hope for education under jeopardy. IFP is of the view that those doers of such racial malicious activities should be cut short in their track before this becomes a custom which will compromise the quality of our education system, and therefore present a disaster-prone future for our children.

IFP urges parents to boldly persist flagging such cases, since this is unflattering and unacceptable, and cannot be accommodated in our society.

“The IFP in Gauteng demands that school principals remain just in receiving complaints of such manner and deal with them accordingly. Moreover we call on the Gauteng Department of Education to seize a leadership role in ensuring that offenders in such cases receive a befitting penalty, instead of being mandated to offer a mere apology to the suffer,” Concluded Dlamini.