Pretoria High School for Girls suspends 12 learners amid racism allegations; DBE investigates staff inaction

Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za
25 July 2024 | 12:44 p.m. SAST
1-minute read

Image: Awonke Fernandez

Twelve learners have been suspended from the Pretoria High School for girls following allegations of racism.

Members from the Department of Basic Education (DBE) visited the school to find out more information after learners alleged that the girls had set up a WhatsApp group to talk about them.

“It’s quite sad. In this day and age, we are still talking about racism, when we should be talking development, because our schools are developmental institutions,” Steve Mabona, spokesperson for the Gauteng DBE said in an interview on Radio Islam International.

A disciplinary hearing is scheduled for 30 and 31 July 2024, after which the student governing body will decide on the best course of action.

Additional allegations were levelled at some school staff, including the principal and some teachers, for not acting on the reports. The DBE’s decision on these allegations is pending the outcome of the current investigation.

Mabona said that diversity programs had been implemented at the school in 2016 to foster tolerance after an incident of a similar nature occurred.

Listen to the full interview on Sabaahul Muslim with Moulana Habib Bobat here.

The ANC’s Bold New Plans

Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za 27 January 2026 1-minute read The ANC’s bold plans to strengthen service delivery at local government level and municipalities have been given the thumbs-up by government experts, on the condition that it is not only talk but...

The Africa Report

Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za 27 January 2026 | 12:15 CAT 3-minute read Sincere or hollow? Belgium confronts its role in Lumumba’s assassination On January 20, 2026, a court in Brussels, Belgium, held a procedural hearing regarding the prosecution of...

Media Lens With Ebrahim Deen: Greenland

Rabia Mayet | rabiamayet@radioislam.co.za 22 January 2026 2-minute read Strategically located in the Arctic, and with an abundance of rare metal resources under its ice, it is no surprise that Greenland is once again in the news. In this 4th Industrial Revolution,...

ASRI Report | Promises and Peril: Dr Imraan Buccus on Corruption, Crime and South Africa’s Crisis

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 5-minute read | 23 January 2026 South Africa is grappling with a complex political and social crisis, driven by corruption, crime, and declining faith in democratic institutions. These challenges are explored in detail in the...

Zama Zama violence forces hundreds to flee homes in Randfontein

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read | 22 January 2026 More than 400 families have been displaced from the Sporong informal settlement in Randfontein on the West Rand after violence and extortion linked to illegal miners, commonly known as zama zamas,...

ICE faces growing backlash amid calls for disbandment over alleged abuses

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read | 21 January 2026 Urgent concerns are mounting in the United States following fresh allegations that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has evolved into a militarised force operating beyond meaningful...