School governing bodies must mind the Constitution, says official, as another race row breaks
School governing bodies in the private education institutions wield a lot of power but they need to abide strictly to national legislation in their decisions, says the Gauteng department of education. A senior staff member at St John’s College, an elite Johannesburg school, was found guilty of racial stereotyping and passing derogatory comments. Geography teacher Keith Arlow was subsequently given a "final warning" letter by the governing body. Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi rejected this decision by the college on Thursday. Spokesman Steve Mabona said the MEC would meet the school and urge them to reverse the decision. "Nothing below expulsion will be acceptable," Mabona said. In another racially charged incident, this time at a public school in Soweto, Lesufi dissolved the school governing body of Klipspruit West Secondary School after the governing body called for the removal of a principal because he was black. General secretary of the National Association of School Govern...
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