Confronting racism in South African schools is a necessity
Dr Sheetal Bhoola
The ongoing racism at schools in South Africa needs to be addressed. Recent incidents reported by the media at Centenary High School in Durban this month and last year at Pretoria High School have revealed that the school violence was the result of racism and racial prejudice amongst young South Africans. We have reached 30 years of democracy, and many of the youth who are victims and perpetrators of race-based discrimination have not witnessed the legislation and regulations of the Apartheid era. Black, Indian and Coloured families often have heard first-hand narratives from their parents and grandparents of their discriminatory experiences that impacted the quality of lives they had and their capacity for financial and social mobility.
Many of the present high school learners would have been born after 1994. However, we are struggling with a society that is still racially divided to the extent that it has resulted in hurt and pain among teenagers in society. The belief that people of different race groups are either inferior, superior and or different to one another is a huge hindrance to developing a cohesive society. People are still predominantly living in residential locations previously demarcated by race and privilege. Moosa (2021) stated that interracial socialising only occurs in public spaces such as the workplace, educational institutions, and malls or shops. This has entrenched the racial divisions within South African society.
Racial discrimination and prejudices are still persistent in South African society despite the aspirational Preamble to the South African Constitution that states, 'We, the people of South Africa, believe that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity' (Republic of South Africa, 1996). Steyn (2024) affirms that racism still exists under the guise of meritocracy, equality, multiculturalism and non-racialism. The educational approach to diversity and multiculturalism minimises and conceals the impact of systematic racism and the way in which South African society still experiences it. "Structural racism remains deeply embedded in the institutional fabric of South African society. It permeates the economy, the labour market, the media, education, health, and housing" (Steyn, 2024; 163). The reasons for continued racial discrimination post-democracy are based on perspectives and the various changes that our society has endured post-democracy. The Black Economic Empowerment policy, for instance, does give preferential treatment to people of colour in South Africa and is based on the principle of preferential treatment based on racial differentiation and not merit. Although the policy was a necessity to readdress injustices of the past, it has also entrenched society's beliefs of racial division, highlighted racial differences and, for some, reignited perspectives that people of different race groups are either superior or inferior to one another.
The other reality is that past inequalities still impact us daily. Advantaged communities still reap social and financial benefits in many ways. Generational wealth has played a pivotal role in enhancing the lives of young, privileged South Africans, and its impact is visible in the standards of living and their means of earning. Similarly, research has indicated that in most cases, children benefit from parents who had the privilege of being educated and have had access to high-profile jobs in the corporate sector. A financially successful parent's life exposure and experiences often benefit his children and family. The value lies in the shared experiences of these families that shape their thinking, future planning, and education strategies for succeeding in life. The reality that the middle and upper classes live a very different lifestyle from the lower classes contributes to their lack of capacity to relate to people experiencing poverty and their difficulties (Abraham, 2016). Studies (Mekoa & Busari, 2018; Steyn, 2024) have supported the notion that inter-racial trust is lower within heterogenous societies than in homogenous societies. These factors have hindered cohesiveness in various spaces in South Africa. Racial capitalism is the process that closely associates a social and economic value with another person's racial identity. Implementing differential economic privileges for people of different race groups constitutes the underpinning of racial capitalism, where race and class broadly intersect. The root has been the policies of apartheid, and it has been perpetuated by unbridled capitalist relations and, ironically, to some extent, by affirmative action in post-apartheid South Africa. The South African Reconciliation Barometer Survey of 2021 indicated that intergroup relations between Africans and other race groups have deteriorated since the demise of apartheid because of the socio-economic inequality that is predominantly experienced by Africans (Moosa, 2021). Data collated and analysed to investigate the motivating factors of the July 2021 riots indicated that there is a prevalence of racialised capitalism and inequality in South Africa.
The fact that the means to earn a livelihood has been racially aligned in the past and even now is a hindrance to cohesive understanding and practising the concept of mutual respect in our country. A beckoning question is whether children at school are adequately informed of what is racism and discrimination and what the repercussions are of related behaviour. The ideals of our multiracial and multicultural society should be reinforced regularly along with the humanitarian values of a thriving society. In addition, Surveys conducted by the Foundation for Human Rights have identified that 50% or less of people in South Africa have heard of the Constitution or Bill of Rights.
Children and our youth experience poverty and are fully aware of the inequalities that are prevalent within our society. Schools should reinforce the Bill of Rights and teach children about key laws such as the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (2000). The South African curriculum needs to include concepts of racial capitalism and social cohesiveness so that our youth are appropriately taught to think about the impact of racial discrimination and behaviour that results from that. More importantly, we should cultivate a culture that develops the concept of shared identity to build a cohesive society.
*Dr Sheetal Bhoola is the Academic Director of StellarMaths and Academic at TheUniversity of Zululand
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