Screengrab of Pinelands High School learners selling their black classmates in a mock slave auction.
Cape Town - Five Pinelands High School learners who “sold” their black classmates in a mock slave auction, have been instructed to apologise and attend workshops.
This was revealed by the Western Cape Edu- cation Department (WCED), as their disciplinary hearings concluded.
The southern suburbs school was thrust into the spotlight several weeks ago, when videos surfaced on social media showing coloured learners selling their black classmates in a mock auction.
The incident, captured on a cellphone camera and subsequently shared on social media, was reported to the school’s management by concerned parent, Merle Potgieter.
In the video, captioned “Slavery at school is crazy”, black learners are seen behind a gate while their coloured classmates are heard making bids of various amounts between R50 000 and R100 000.
One learner offers to buy his classmate using Bitcoin crypto currency.
This led to the suspension of five learners, as former teachers and current learners came forward to reveal more racist incidents. The learners were temporarily suspended while their hearings were under way.
WCED spokesperson, Bronagh Hammond, said the school governing body’s disciplinary process had been completed, and various sanctions imposed.
“The outcome of the process and the sanctions have been communicated to the parents and learners involved. The sanctions are restorative in nature and include participating in various workshops and learning programmes, written assignments, an apology, as well as community service.”
Hammond said the learners were given deadlines to ensure compliance with the sanctions.
“Numerous deadlines have been established to ensure accountability and compliance with these sanctions.
“The sanctions were designed to help the learners involved gain a deeper understanding of the seriousness of the incident and its impact on others, particularly in the historical context of South Africa.
“This outcome was supported by the parents and learners involved, including the victims.”
Hammond said the school had indicated its commitment to continuing its journey in promoting nonracialism and diversity.
“Other learners have faced and are facing other cascading disciplinary measures in terms of the code of conduct,” said Hammond.
mahira.duval@inl.co.za
Cape Argus