Officials from the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education will meet with learners from Durban’s Centenary Secondary School on Monday following a fight last week in which three learners were stabbed.
School management and department officials held a meeting over the weekend to determine the cause of the altercation. It was confirmed that the incident was not racially motivated.
The department’s spokesperson, Muzi Mahlambi dismissed claims of racial tensions at the school, saying the fight was misrepresented in a video shared online.
“We want to dismiss that there is any racial tension at the school. It emanated from someone who took the video and decided to name it as such, saying that black children were beating Indian children. On Monday, we called a meeting of all learners. We want to have a conversation as the department, without teachers, so that the learners can tell us what issues need to be addressed,” Mahlambi said.
Meanwhile, the KwaZulu-Natal Parents Association is calling for accountability for those responsible for the stabbings.
Chairperson Vee Gani said an investigation is necessary to restore stability at the school and reassure parents and learners.
“There must be an investigation into what happened. If we don’t know what happened, we are not going to be able to address it. If you are a parent of a child going to that school, you are going to be scared because there are already children who have been injured. You don’t want your child to be injured. We need to eliminate that risk—so immediately there needs to be stability that is put into that school,” Gani stated.
