Yesterday it was Cornwall Hill College.
Tomorrow it will be another school and another thereafter.
Racism remains one of the biggest challenges in SA’s multi-racial schools.
It is not necessarily a schooling problem but a manifestation of a much broader reality in our society.
It particularly thrives – overtly or otherwise – in schools where by design, bureaucratic systems are deeply rooted in prejudice.
The protest by pupils and parents at Cornwall Hill College in Pretoria yesterday was not the first. A similar kind of demonstration happened last week and on previous occasions before.
Current and former pupils tell disturbing stories of discrimination where they were consistently made to feel that they do not belong in the school, that the expression of their identity, be it through hair or language, is regarded as contrary to the values of the school.
In its response yesterday, the college said it had established a diversity and transformation committee as a subcommittee of the board of directors.
We are told this group of people meet regularly to deal with matters raised by parents or pupils.
In the context of the continuous protests, it is reasonable to believe that, for whatever reason, the committee has not been effective in adequately addressing the concerns raised by pupils and their parents.
The school also affirmed its commitment to principles of equality and respect for all.
Its response is the kind of rhetoric we have become used to from untransformed institutions.
What is often missing is a commitment to introspect, to seek to understand what institutional values and practices exist, which, by design place whiteness as the only acceptable standard of being, often at the expense of other races.
This work goes beyond setting up a committee or establishing rules, which may deal with redress merely on a superficial level.
It requires the school community to confront historic traditions which at face value may be regarded as harmless, even noble, but are in fact prejudicial in nature.
It also demands that the school be intentional about holding racists – both teachers and pupils – accountable for any acts of discrimination.
This is the work that our schools must do if we are to truly transform our education system.
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