Should children go to a school at which they’re not really welcome?
As protests erupted outside Hoërskool Overvaal on Wednesday, over the refusal to accept 55 English children‚ it needs to be asked: is it in the children’s best interest to attend the school in the first place? This is the essence of a question being asked by the Centre for Child Law following a similar case that took place in Fochville six years ago. In 2012‚ the Gauteng Department of Education placed 37 English pupils into the Afrikaans-medium Hoërskool Fochville; a court case ensued with a subsequent settlement between parents and the government. As part of the settlement‚ Hoërskool Fochville took in the 37 pupils for five years — and the department agreed to build a new English-medium school in the area. But‚ the Centre for Child Law notes‚ it wasn’t always plain sailing for the pupils‚ who, at times, faced bullying and discrimination. "They made the best of it‚" according to the centre’s deputy director and lawyer Karabo Ozah. The centre interviewed them after they finished matr...
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