Political storm hits top school: Pretoria Girl’s High under fire – Richard Wilkinson

Key topics.MPs interrogated Pretoria Girls' principal in a hostile, unfair hearing.Gauteng Education refused to release a key report on alleged racism.Pretoria Girls excels academically but faces political attacks..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By Richard Wilkinson.Last week, on Tuesday 25 March 2025, a cavalcade of blue-light vehicles swept into the parking lot at Pretoria High School for Girls. The cars were transporting members of Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Basic Education who were conducting an oversight visit to Gauteng and who had come to interrogate the school's principal, Mrs Erasmus. .According to Parliament's website, the committee consists of the following Members of Parliament ("MPs"), with each political party being allocated seats on the committee in a manner that is roughly proportionate to the number of seats that it holds in the National Assembly:.NoMember of ParliamentPolitical Party1Ms Khomotjo Joy Maimela (Chairperson)ANC2Ms Yanga GovanaANC3Mr Sedukanelo Tshepo David LouwANC4Ms Phindisile Pretty Xaba-NtshabaANC5Ms Nompumelelo Matildah GasaMK6Ms Pinky Pearlgene MngadiMK7Mr Mandla ShikwambanaEFF8Ms Lerato Mikateko NgobeniAction SA9Mr Siphosethu Lindinkosi NgcoboIFP10Dr Delmaine Chesley ChristiansDA11Ms Ciska JordaanDA.After arriving just before 4:00pm for a meeting which had been scheduled to begin at 12:00pm, MPs subjected Mrs Erasmus to over four-and-a-half hours of extremely hostile and aggressive interrogation before demanding a long list of documentation from the school. The MPs had clearly come prepared with questions to ask Mrs Erasmus, but they did not extend her the courtesy of sending her their questions ahead of time, thus utterly disregarding the principles of natural justice. .The situation was worsened by the absence of the two DA MPs represented on the committee, who were unable to attend the hearing due to personal crises. As a result, Mrs Erasmus faced an avalanche of one-sided abuse from ANC and EFF MPs. Ultimately, this underscores the critical importance of arranging alternate members when MPs are unable to attend committee meetings..The latest chapter in a long and sordid tale.The timeline behind the Pretoria Girls saga is, in brief, as follows. In late July 2024, a group of twelve white matric girls were suspended from school after being accused of posting racist messages in a WhatsApp group. After I wrote a series of essays on the matter, John Mullins SC, an advocate at the Pretoria Bar, offered to assist the girls on a no-fee basis. Assisted by a group of advocates and attorneys, Advocate Mullins SC represented the girls at the disciplinary hearing which was chaired by an independent member of the Pretoria bar. On 1 August 2024, all twelve girls were found not guilty of all charges levelled against them – all whilst members of the EFF led a group of schoolgirls in chanting "Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer" at the gates of the school. .Clearly outraged by the outcome of the disciplinary hearing, the Gauteng Department of Education commenced a fresh investigation into whether a "culture of racism" existed at the school. The department promptly suspended the principal, Mrs Erasmus, and several other senior staff. Following a 95-day investigation undertaken by a hand-picked but otherwise unknown lawyer called Mr Charles Mdladlamba, the MEC of Education held a highly publicised press conference in which Mr Mdladlamba announced his findings. In essence, he recommended that the principal and various other officials be charged with misconduct for mishandling the WhatsApp group scandal (a nonsensical charge considering that the girls were subsequently cleared) as well as various other offences, the true nature of which is yet to be fully disclosed. .Read more: Richard Wilkinson: Calls grow for reinstatement of suspended Pretoria Girls' principal.Importantly, the Gauteng Department of Education never released the legal report – not even to the implicated individuals, despite the MEC of Education declaring on a public platform that he would make the report available to affected individuals. The Chairman of the School Governing Body, Mr Craig Hezlett, submitted a request in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act ("PAIA"), only to have the request declined. In the meantime, the School Governing Body brought an urgent court application for access to the report for purposes of an envisaged review. The urgent application was removed from the roll after the allocated judge, Judge Madlenkosi Motha made remarks which indicated that he was not likely to approach the matter with an open mind. A detailed account of Judge Motha's extraordinary courtroom performance may be found in this Politicsweb article by legal academic (and witness to events), Dr Willem Gravett. .Nevertheless, the School Governing Body is proceeding with the review application. The Gauteng Department of Education, in delivering the record of the proceedings, failed to make the report available. The School Governing Body has brought an application to compel the Gauteng Department of Education to deliver the report as part of the record. This application has been opposed and is pending. Strangely, the department alleges that the School Governing Body cannot be given access to the report as part of the review process because there is a PAIA application pending. This makes no sense, because the PAIA request was refused and so there is no application pending. .In light of this obfuscation, the obvious question must be asked: Why does the Gauteng Department of Education refuse to make Mr Mdladlamba's report public? What is it attempting to hide? .The irregularities and abuses of power which arose during this saga are so numerous and so egregious that it would take thousands of words to document all of them. Indeed, should you so wish, you are welcome to review my seven prior essays on the topic which are freely available on my website. In any event, the department has proceeded with disciplinary action against Mrs Erasmus and other officials, who are being ably represented by union representatives and legal counsel. .It is against this background that last week's events played out. .A new front in the war against Pretoria Girls.After having been harassed and bullied by the Gauteng Department of Education for more than six months, it is clear that Pretoria Girls is now coming under attack from national platforms such as Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Basic Education. Thus, a delegation of Members of Parliament, accompanied by five support staff and two bodyguards were sent to Gauteng. Presumably, in addition to air tickets and ground transport all these individuals were accommodated in hotels and received daily subsistence allowances. .It is obvious that ANC and EFF members of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education had been briefed by officials from within the Gauteng Department of Education, for the lines of inquiry which they pursued were clearly based on themes arising from Mr Mdladlamba's investigation. It is also clear that the visit was little more than an ambush and a witch-hunt with MPs showing little regard to the facts. .The first line of inquiry related to Mrs Erasmus' handling of the now thoroughly debunked issue of the "racist" Whatsapp group. The finding of the disciplinary hearing was endorsed by former President Thabo Mbeki, who had sight of the messages and who published a 13-page report on the matter. This was further endorsed by a recent Press Complaints Council finding which instructed the Daily Maverick newspaper to apologise for its coverage of the scandal. Nevertheless, the ANC and EFF refuse to let this matter die. .In his desperate search to find a shred of racism at Pretoria Girls, Mr Mdladlamba turned his attention to various allegations of mismanagement and maladministration at the school – allegations which were completely unrelated to the purpose for which he was hired and which fell well beyond the terms of reference of his investigation. These themes were amplified by the parliamentary committee last week. .The most absurd claim relates to the alleged misuse of a school vehicle by Mr Erasmus, the husband of the school principal. According to a statement issued by Parliament, the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee, Ms Joy Maimela, has called for an investigation, stating that:."We were informed that the principal's husband, who is not in the employ of the school or the department, uses the school vehicles. The principal confirmed this. This is unacceptable. The department needs to investigate this irregularity.".Presumably, the Gauteng Department of Education will allege that Mr Erasmus was able to operate with impunity due to his status as a white man, thus showing that a culture of "white privilege" exists at the school. .The full facts of the matter show how unfounded and misguided this allegation is. Mr Erasmus volunteers in the school gardens where he is involved in maintaining the roses and other flower beds. He does this work because he enjoys it and he does so without remuneration. The vehicle which Mr Erasmus used does not belong to the school or to the department but, rather, belongs to the School Governing Body. Mr Erasmus used the vehicle (a bakkie or pick-up truck) on several occasions to visit Builders Warehouse to collect nursery and maintenance items for the benefit of the school and to also collect some terracotta pots which had been donated to the school. All of this occurred with the full knowledge and endorsement of the School Governing Body, as documented in written reports dating back to 2019 which endorsed Mr Erasmus' activities in this area. .Other allegations which MPs pursued concerned various staff appointments. None of these avenues of enquiry appear to have any merit. Finally, MPs expressed the usual outrage over the racial composition of the school's teaching staff which, in the view of the ANC and EFF, is disproportionately white. According to Ms Maimela:."The majority of the educators are white. We want to [know] how they do recruitment and why is their recruitment skewed towards a certain race.".Indeed, it appears that the only offence which Mrs Erasmus and her colleagues have committed involves existing in South Africa in the year 2025 whilst being white. .A gem of a school.What makes the assault on Pretoria Girls so galling is that it is a truly magnificent government school that achieves exceptionally good academic results. Last year, it achieved a Matric pass rate of 99% with 90% of girls receiving results that will allow them to study for a Bachelor's degree at university – nearly double that of the national average. The school achieved a total of 359 subject distinctions. .The school's facilities are superb, with world-class swimming pools, astroturf hockey fields and other amenities including a boarding house that accommodates 142 girls. And for those who care about racial bean-counting, the school is wonderfully multi-racial. About 80% of the students are black, 7% are brown and just 13% are white. .This gives rise to an important question. In a province and in a country where so many schools are in a shocking state – with dilapidated classrooms, absent teachers and dismal academic results – why is Pretoria Girls such a target? Why target a school which is operating in exemplary fashion?.Undoubtedly, its status as one of Gauteng's great heritage schools – complete with beautiful sandstone buildings designed by Sir Herbert Baker – is part of the problem. The school is led by a white principal and many of the members of staff are white. The idea that an institution which is so clearly a legacy of the British influence on southern Africa should achieve such levels of academic excellence is intolerable to the Marxist and African nationalist segment of our political class. They would far rather burn it to the ground and preside over the ashes than be subjected to what they (quite wrongly) perceive to be humiliation. .I suspect that another issue relates to the fact that the school is English medium and not Afrikaans medium. The Afrikaans community is generally better organised, less fearful and less compromising than its English counterpart and, so, a political attack on, say, Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool or Die Hoërskool Menlopark would likely give rise to a more vociferous counter-offensive compared to a softer target like Pretoria Girls. .But perhaps the most convincing explanation relates to the base human emotions of pride and ego. The Gauteng Department of Education suffered a tremendous setback when it lost the initial disciplinary hearing in August 2024. It could not admit defeat and has done everything it can to save face. In reality, it has only dug itself deeper into the hole that it has made for itself. .A clueless press and a silent Minister.You will not read any of the above information in South Africa's mainstream media. Indeed, the mainstream media continues to do everything it can to legitimise and amplify the ANC-EFF's narrative. This was demonstrated most recently by the following article which appeared in News 24:.Written by Mr Prega Govender, the article gives a detailed rundown of the racial composition of various schools around the country whilst implicitly endorsing tropes promoted by the ANC-EFF in their highly destructive mission to purge racial minorities from every aspect of public life in South Africa. That this article was written just days before Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Basic Education appeared at the school strikes me as being a remarkable coincidence. .Disappointingly, the national Minister of Education, Ms Siviwe Gwarube of the Democratic Alliance, has been very muted on this issue. .There are many things which the Minister can and should do to intervene at Pretoria Girls. The first would be to write a public letter to the Gauteng MEC of Education, demanding that disciplinary action be taken against provincial officials who engaged in appalling power abuse during the initial crisis. She should also publicly request that Mr Mdladlamba's report be made public and, failing this, that charges against Mrs Erasmus and other school officials be withdrawn. I am sure that a personal visit by the Minister to Pretoria Girls would be welcomed by the Principal, by the Chairman of the School Governing Body and by the parents of the twelve wrongly accused girls who suffered terrible abuse during a critical period of their matric year. .The ANC and EFF have made full use of the structures which they control to attack Pretoria Girls. To their credit, DA Members of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (notably Sergio Dos Santos MPL and Mike Waters MPL) have asked numerous questions to the MEC of Education which have brought important information to light. It would be good to see the DA use the executive power which it now holds at a national level to fight back in defence of the school and in defence of the staff and students who bear the brunt of ANC-EFF power abuse. .Read also:.SAHRC, WCED in perilous tango over learner rights: Richard WilkinsonAndrew Kenny: Confused racial psychology governs ANC attitudes to white teachersBELA Bill: Threatening public education and increasing inequality – Andrew Kenny

Political storm hits top school: Pretoria Girl’s High under fire – Richard Wilkinson

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