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Brackenfell High School will be the scene of the protests on Friday, says the EFF.
- Testing for grades 8-11 at Brackenfell High School will be rescheduled prior to a planned protest by the EFF.
- Arrangements are being made to ensure that matrices writing Physical Sciences that morning “can do it without interruption,” said MEC Debbie Schafer.
- The EFF warned Tuesday that, come Friday, it would “go down and make sure nothing works.”
Testing for grades 8-11 at Brackenfell High School will be rescheduled ahead of a planned EFF protest on Friday.
Arrangements have also been made to ensure that matrices writing Physical Science that morning “can do so without interruption,” said Debbie Schafer, Western Cape Education MEC.
The school will remain open and classes will continue, he confirmed in a statement.
He said the EFF has received permission from the city of Cape Town for 100 members to protest in front of the school since noon on Friday.
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“This is clearly an attempt to intimidate the school and is infringing on the rights of students who are writing tests, especially our matrices.
“Our students have been subjected to unprecedented events this year and anxiety and stress levels are high. This behavior will add to that pressure,” Schafer said.
The South African Schools Act prohibits protesting on school property, and protesters are expected to remain off school grounds.
“We are in contact with the school, SAPS, and city law enforcement to ensure order is maintained and our students and staff are safe. There is also private security to ensure that the school or its students are not harmed.”
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The EFF warned Tuesday that, come Friday, it would “go down and make sure nothing works.”
“We said the terrorist attacks in Brackenfell will not go unanswered,” he tweeted from his official Twitter account.
“They have pressured us, and they must prepare to be pressured further.”
The action comes after violence broke out in the streets surrounding Brackenfell High last Monday among locals and EFF supporters heading to the school to stage a protest, following a private tuition party to which only white students attended.
The school’s official tuition dance was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the event had been planned by a group of parents.
The school has maintained that it did not participate in the organization or planning of the party.
Lay off
The EFF demanded that two teachers who attended the event be suspended from school.
The school’s governing body requested an urgent injunction to prevent the EFF from protesting racism on the roads surrounding the school, but Judge Siraj Desai denied it last Tuesday in Western Cape Superior Court. The EFF pledged not to disrupt school activities before the full case is heard.
On Monday, the matter was postponed until December 2 because the full case was not ready for hearing.
Schafer asked Brackenfell residents “not to gather at the school with a view to getting into altercations.”
“Any action that further increases tensions will make it difficult for law enforcement authorities to do their job. Please don’t take the law into your own hands,” he said.
“It is important that the legitimate concerns of people in the school, particularly people of color, are addressed. The school is committed to doing so, long before this recent incident.”
She said the school had already put processes in place earlier this year to ensure the school is more inclusive and that this would be “a process and the EFF cannot hold ongoing protests because their demands are not being met.”
“I have scheduled a meeting with the provincial representatives of the EFF on Thursday to discuss their concerns regarding the school, in an attempt to try to reach a proper understanding on the way forward.
“Let us all think of our children who have the constitutional right to a basic education. Their well-being must be the most important thing in our minds.”
