A group of parents staged a protest outside Danie Malan Laerskool in northern Pretoria on Monday, burning tyres to express their outrage over allegations that the school has systematically excluded numerous black learners in an effort to preserve its predominantly Afrikaans culture and traditions.
Community leader, Thamsanqa Shabangu, said the protesters were demanding transformation and greater inclusivity at the school.
“The majority of children who are residing in Pretoria north are denied access due to one classroom for English, whereas they have three Afrikaans classes. Every year, there are promises to address the situation but nothing has happened. The Gauteng Department of Education is also saying they will address the issue administratively but have failed to do that on their part,” he said.
He said Danie Malan was treated like a private school “where whatever they say the department will have to listen to them”.
“And when they are in disagreement with the department, they will go to a point of court interdicting the MEC or the MEC’s office for trying to bring in transformation into the north because they want to protect their rich Afrikaans culture,” he said.
He further criticised the online school admission system, stating that it had failed to promote transformation and equity in the enrolment process.
He said it was unjustifiable for children in other areas to be forced to learn in makeshift container classrooms, while Danie Malan had available space and was not oversubscribed like many other schools.
DA Shadow MEC for Education, Sergio Isa dos Santos MPL, who paid a visit to the school on Tuesday, said the school’s limited capacity was the biggest problem, which makes it difficult to accommodate additional learners.
“Not that they don’t want additional learners; they want additional classrooms. It is a dual medium school with predominantly Afrikaans learners,” he said.
He said the school currently has 1 352 learners and possesses sufficient infrastructure to support them, including adequate classrooms and ablution facilities.
“For them to accept additional learners, they need mobile classrooms and the mobile classrooms are going to take away the space for sporting facilities,” he said.
He said that, according to the school’s account, department officials visited on Monday, informing them of an investigation and assuring a follow-up report to both parents and the school.
Department spokesperson Steve Mabona has not yet provided a response to inquiries regarding the reasoning behind the investigation and the department’s planned course of action to address the concerns at the school.
Dos Santos said the learners were outraged during the protest and were subsequently dismissed from school for the day.
According to him, it was not an isolated incident as the school had previously faced similar confrontations with frustrated parents seeking admission for their children.
“There were issues here in 2023 and also in 2021. It is starting to become a little bit more regular in terms of protests. But the failure is with the department; there are not enough schools in the area,” he said.
He said the DA would send questions to the department to gain better understanding regarding their plan of providing additional capacity of classrooms in the area.
“We want to find out what they are investigating; their terms of reference and what are the outcomes of their investigation,” he said.
Ward 2 councillor Quentin Meyer issued a heartfelt appeal to the local community on Tuesday, urging them to visit Danie Malan, take a few minutes to walk around, and offer prayers for the well-being, safety, and comfort of the children and staff.