Father Cries Racism After Teacher Delayed to Stop School Fight at Welkom Technical High School

• An investigation into racism and assault allegations at Welkom Technical High School was launched after a teacher failed to intervene in a fight
• A video of the clash between two schoolboys inside a classroom was widely shared on social media
• The father of the assaulted pupil believes the incident was racially motivated, criticising the school's handling of the situation

WELKOM - A teacher allegedly failed to step in during a fight, prompting the Free State Department of Education to launch an investigation into claims of racism, bullying, and assault at Welkom Technical High School.

A video of the brutal fistfight was widely shared on social media, sparking outrage amongst citizens.

Teacher failed to step in during a fight

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The video shows a white boy strangling a fellow black pupil. The incident happened in full view of the teacher who failed to act.

The teacher only steps in and tries to manage the situation when the black teenager gets up and starts fighting back.

According to The Citizen, the black boy's father said the school called him to inform him that his son was suspended because he was involved in a fight. He only found out what really happened after he saw the video on social media.

Father of assaulted pupil says incident was racist

The father said the video showed that the fight was racial because the teacher did not intervene until his son fought back.

“My son was strangled by a white boy, and she did nothing, but when my son got up to fight back, that’s when she got physically involved, but she just watched as my son was being assaulted,” said the boy's father.

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The pupil's father added that he was disappointed with how the school handled the situation.

Experts say violence has no place in South African schools

Speaking exclusively to Briefly News, Felicity Harrison from the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation weighed in on the alleged racist incident at Welkom Technical High School.

Harrison first explained that violence cannot be tolerated in South African schools and in society. She said that we come from a long history of violence since slavery, colonialism and apartheid, and the violent fight in the Free State is the latest example.

"It is important to remember that violence takes many forms, of which the physical is the most obvious manifestation. Bullying, micro-aggressions and systemic racism are a continuing feature of our education system.

To see such incidents as isolated is to miss the larger picture in which whiteness, privilege and racism are woven into our institutions," said Harrison.

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Harrison added that racism needs to be dismantled in the same way it was intentionally instituted.

She said it starts with policymakers and educators ensuring that the country's history is taught correctly the curriculum includes issues such as understanding bias, institutionalized racism and non-violent conflict resolution.

Harrison added that we should be having conversations about racism all the time and not when violent incidents like the one in the Free State occur. She added that parents, society and even faith-based communities could help encourage and celebrate diversity.

Questions swirl around Anele Mdoda’s Hoërskool Jan Viljoen ‘racism’ backlash

Briefly News previously reported that outspoken media personality Anele Mdoda is taking a stand against the alleged racially-sparked clashes that broke out at Randfontein's Hoërskool Jan Viljoen.

The situation has been volatile since violent scenes erupted between black and white learners in the wake of an alleged racially motivated incident. Since then, two opposing groups, mainly comprising parents, have also descended on the school.

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Videos circulating online show tense standoffs between parents of black and coloured children as well as their white counterparts. Protesting continued on Monday amid Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi's visit to investigate claims of racism at the high school.

Source: Briefly News