Violent conflict is prevalent between Black and Coloured learners at Nellmapius Secondary School near Mamelodi in Tshwane.
According to reports, the said racial tensions between Black and Coloured learners at the school have been there for many years now.
This has led to the school resorting to employing private security officers to maintain law and order at the school’s premises.
Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) spokesperson Steve Mabona admitted that the department is aware of the racial tensions at the school, including the latest racial fracas which happened at the beginning of March this year.
“Information at our disposal reveals that the latest racial conflict started in the community of Nellmapius itself on Saturday 01 March 2025, and not inside the school’s premises,” said Mabona in a media statement submitted to Tshwane Talks.
“Unfortunately, the violence escalated inside the school’s premises on Tuesday 04 March this year and on Wednesday 05 March a black parent arrived at the school and became unruly towards a Coloured learner and started slapping him, thus aggravating the already volatile situation at the school,” explained Mabona.
He insisted that no learner was injured inside the school’s premises.
“We strongly condemn any acts of misconduct which seek to undermine the dignity of our learning institutions, and the Department continues to appeal to parents to assist in enforcing discipline in and around the school’s environment,” he said.
Mabona revealed that schools are a microcosm of society and that what generally occurs in the community finds expression inside school premises.
He pointed out the following societal ills as the root cause of the problems that have engulfed Nellmapius Secondary School:
1.Learner ill-discipline in the form of learner-on-learner violence and learner-on-educator violence.
2. Bullying, gangsterism, drugs and substance abuse.
3.Teenage pregnancy and underage sexual activities.
Mabona said the GDE’s Psycho-Social Support team has been deployed at the Nellmapius Secondary School to provide the necessary support to those affected by the racial violence between Black and Coloured learners at the school.
Meanwhile, a Coloured Nellmapius Extension 1 parent Rochae McMaster, whose child was involved in the racial violence at the school told Tshwane Talks that he went to the school last Wednesday after receiving reports that his Grade 8 son was being attacked by black parents.
“All Coloured learners were ordered by teachers at the school to go into the school hall where they were subsequently beaten up by black parents and as a result, we feel that our Coloured children are not safe at the school,” he said.
“Black people, as Coloureds we don’t know what it is that we have done to you for you to beat up our children like that, we need an explanation,” lamented McMaster.
He said about four Coloured learners were attacked and at least one of them managed to escape while the others are in hospital now.
A black parent Pinky Precious Mkhondo told Tshwane Talks that her Grade 11 child was stabbed with a screwdriver at Nellmapius Secondary School.
Resident Mamohau Moselakgomo said Coloured learners were armed with guns, screwdrivers and crowbars in their fight against Black learners.
She said she spoke to a Coloured learner who told her the Nellmapius Secondary School is their territory and that they want to teach Black learners a lesson in this regard.
“There are parents who got injured in the racial conflict between Coloured and Black learners, windows of several houses were damaged by stones, the Principal Mr Nkwana and his teachers are not respected and work in fear,” she said.
She lamented the fact that some children of Nellmapius Extension 2 have been denied admission to the school and that the GDE has instead enrolled Coloured learners at the school.
Another Coloured parent complained that her daughter was nearly raped just outside the school premises, but the security guards didn’t bother to help her.
“Lawlessness must stop at the school, troublesome learners must be expelled, and dagga-smoking must stop,” she said.
Yet another parent told Tshwane Talks that the Nellmapius Secondary School is corrupt, and learners feel unsafe at the school.
She appealed to the GDE to provide tight and stricter security at the school to restore order so that proper learning can take place.