Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi on Monday said his department intended to appeal the judgment made by Judge Bill Prinsloo that 55 English speaking learners cannot be admitted at Hoerskool Overvaal due to capacity.
“Let the Constitutional Court legalise racism… let the Constitutional Court say you are wrong in requesting our children just to study, sing and dance together. We are not asking for anything, we are saying let our children sing, dance and study together. If that is unlawful let someone come and tell us why,” he said.
Parents of the learners who were denied access at the school threatened to shut it down when it re-opens on Wednesday.
“Away with racism away, no school on Wednesday!!! Down with racism, down! We are tired of the agenda of white people,” they shouted inside the court.
Lesufi told the visibly upset parents that there was no need to be violent and assured them that, one day, their children will attend the school.
“I know we are emotionally hurt all of us, I know that this is a major setback for our transformation agenda, it’s a major setback for our struggle for a non-racial society, but as I said, ours is not for revenge, ours is for equality. I’m pleading with you, let’s not doing things that will embarrass our struggle for a better society,” Lesufi said to a sound of whistles and clap of hands from parents.
“We are going to follow the letter of the law, we are going to reopen this thing. This SGB is coming to an end in March – they have got 90 days to submit their new policy to us… So it was a short lived victory for those that think they got this thing right, the struggle for non racialism can’t be stopped by anyone.”
Warner Human, a legal representative of the school insisted that the department didn’t follow the right procedure.
“As you have seen in what has been shown by the judge, was that the school had on its side made earnest attempts to show that there is no physical capacity. There is material short coming on the side of the department,” he said.
He further said the school doesn’t promote racism.
“This is not what the school wants, this is not what the school thinks is best for the community and the learners who are looking forward to coming to the school.”
