Parktown High School for Girls has also amended its hair policy as the issue gains traction throughout schools in the country.
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The Gauteng Department of Education said that, after a visit to Pretoria Girls High by the province’s education minister, Panyaza Lesufi, it has made a decision to review schools’ code of conduct and suspend clauses relating to hairstyles until further notice.
Students at Pretoria Girls High School say that they have been called monkeys by teachers for wearing banned afros and were forced to straighten their hair, Al Jazeera notes, prompting protests that started earlier this week. The IRR welcomes the announcement by the MEC for Education in Gauteng, Panyaza Lesufi, that a formal investigation into the matter will be convened, and proposes that the investigation be independent of the Department so that all stakeholders can take part.
Photos of Black students from Pretoria Girls High protesting the institution’s discriminatory hair code went viral over the weekend.
Pretoria Girls’ High told CNN it can not comment on the issue as a direct order from the Gauging Department of Education, but in a statement on the school website, it said the school’s governing body had held a successful meeting with Lesufi and that it would work closely with the education department to “resolve the issues which were raised”.
Pupils from Lawson Brown High School in Port Elizabeth also protested on Tuesday over alleged racist attacks regarding their natural hair.
The St Michael’s School for Girls in Bloemfontein said it would be re-evaluating its hair policy after several parents raised concerns about hair inspections targeting black girls at the school. It’s the only way she wears her hair.
The department states, “The learners feel that educators use abusive and demeaning language when they address them regarding their hairstyles”. Afrikaans is closely associated with the apartheid regime. “Learners are majority black and teachers majority white”.
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As the protests picked up worldwide attention, the hashtag #StopRacismAtPretoriaGirlsHigh started trending.
