EFF Members Protest at Joburg Christian School After a Pupil Was Kicked Out for Having Dreadlocks

• The EFF protested at Crowthorne Christian Academy after a video circulated showing a girl and her mother being manhandled over the girl's dreadlocks
• The school had prevented her from attending class until the dreadlocks were removed, leading the EFF to accuse the school of racism
• South Africans have mixed reviews about the incident, with some people supporting the child

JOHANNESBURG - The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) headed down to Crowthorne Christian Academy after a video of a teenage girl and her mother being manhandled made the rounds on social media.

The 13-year-old was thrown out of class allegedly by her principal, Tanya Booysen's husband, for rocking dreadlocks to school. The school wouldn't allow her to attend class until her dreadlocks were removed.

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Teenage girl thrown out of class for having dreadlocks at Joburg Christian School, Mzansi torn about incident

EFF accuses Joburg Christian school

EFF chairperson in Midrand, Thabiso Telokoa, led protestors to the school on Wednesday, 16 August. Telokoa told SowetanLIVE that the behaviour displayed by the school was an act of racism.

He said the school's code of conduct discriminated against pupils with African hair.

Crowthorne Christian School recently changed its code of conduct to exclude hair extensions. The teenager's mother decided to reinstall her dreadlocks, which she had since she was a little girl.

The mother explained that her dreadlocks were cut when she was nine to accommodate her dance exams.

The school's principal anticipated disruption and sent a message to parents on Wednesday morning to keep their children at home.

Joburg Christian school moved locations and changed its name with following procedure

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According to News24, the Department of Education in Gauteng confirmed that the school has been operating illegally.

The department's spokesperson Steve Mabona said the school changed its name and moved to a different location without informing officials about the change.

Mabona added that the department was working with the school to register it.

South Africans have mixed views about the deadlock incident

@OOhnuh said:

"Kanti did this girl just rock up with dreadlocks? Did she not have them before the incident?"

@Pacifique_Nteta said:

"Those that are talking about the school code of conduct, does the code of conduct give permission to that guy to kick out a kid?"

@CynZA01 said:

"Her hair didn't look good TO ME (I think it needed wash and to be neater), but still NOTHING justified the physical assault from the principal's husband. Generally, they dealt with it VERY badly. I've been to 2 Christian schools for 11 years, and we were allowed to wear braids..."

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KZN matriculants flee after bully threatens to stab them, desperately seek help from private security

@MrElleSA said:

"The principal's husband playing security guard was a big red flag. Close the whole thing down!"

Teenage girl thrown out of class for having dreadlocks at Joburg Christian School, Mzansi torn about incident

Briefly News previously reported that a young school child was allegedly assaulted by her principal, Tanya Booysen's husband, Andries, for rocking dreadlocks to school.

According to SowetanLIVE, the 13-year-old child was barred from attending class because she violated the new school policy that prohibits extensions.

However, her mother, who cannot be named, says her child's dreadlocks are her natural hair, not extensions. The child's mother explained that her daughter had dreadlocks from a young age and cut them off when she had a ballet recital at the age of 9.

Source: Briefly News