Outrage as S. African school separates students by race

By Hassan Isilow </p> <p> </p> <p>JOHANNESBURG (AA) – Scores of South Africans protested on Thursday to condemn a school in the North West province which allegedly separated students by race in a classroom.</p> <p>A photo which emerged online late Wednesday showed black students of kindergarten sitting separately in a corner of a classroom away from their white classmates.</p> <p>The image has sparked uproar in a country which emerged from decades of racial segregation 25 years ago.</p> <p>“We want to condemn the white supremacy that still exists in South Africa,” Matakanye Matakanye, secretary general of the National Association of School Governing Bodies, told Anadolu Agency via phone.</p> <p>He said his organization strongly condemns the incident and calls for the integration of all learners in schools.</p> <p>“There are many good white people and schools in South Africa, but a few continue to perpetrate racism,” he said, adding that perpetrators should be identified and isolated.</p> <p>Meanwhile, Sello Lehare, provincial education minister, told protesters at the school that the education department condemns what happened in the classroom.</p> <p>He said the teacher, who separated the students, has been suspended with immediate effect until investigations are concluded.</p> <p>However, chairman of the school governing committee at the school told media the image portrayed on social media is not what happens at the school.</p> <p>“This is an excellent school that has come a long way with integration and for many years there hasn’t been a racial incident at this school,” he told local broadcaster Enca, but fell short of explaining why the students had exactly been separated.</p> <p>Last year, the South African Human Rights Commission said in a report that patterns of racism and systemic racial inequality remained entrenched in South Africa despite the end of apartheid two decades ago.