School racism hits boiling point
2003-03-16 21:20
Cape Town - Parents of learners of Calvinia High School are afraid that racial tension at the school is reaching boiling point.
Tension has been mounting at the school after a white pupil assaulted a coloured one.
Some coloured parents say their children go to school armed with knives, because white pupils are doing the same, while teachers are denying the seriousness of the situation.
Helloise Cupido, mother of 12-year-old Jason, says her son has been very tense since he was assaulted. The case was reported to police.
Johannes van der Walt, chairperson of the school's governing body, says the case is being investigated internally, but that he doesn't want to pre-empt the outcome.
Many coloured parents claimed on Sunday that fights regularly broke out between white and Coloured pupils at school.
"It's like a contagious disease among the children," Elvene Oncke said.
Sammy Brandt, district manager of the Northern Cape department of education, described the incident as a typical schoolboy fight that broke out because of mutual insults.
Van der Walt invited parents to report any alleged incidents to the school's governing body.
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