Two seconds over social media caused tempers to flare this week when a young school pupil uttered a racially offensive slur in a video that quickly went viral. The incident reportedly happened sometime this week over the social media platform “Kick” which is a very popular gaming and live streaming platform especially among teenagers.
This platform has also long been known for being a virtual a cesspool of bullying and nastiness among the school children.
It is on this platform that a 15-year-old learner from Ben Vorster High School briefly entered a chat with an influencer on the platform, called him the “k-word” and scrolled on by. The influencer expressed his concern over the incident and the video ended.
It did not take long before the video appeared on the radar of other pupils who quickly identified the learner and informed the creator of the video. The information was then spread by other users of the platform and soon found its way onto Tiktok and the equally popular platform X (formerly Twitter).
This led to an escalation in the matter where a user on X by the name of Cameron Peters lashed out at both the high school, and the Ward Councillor for the area in which the high school is situated.
“Hoërskool Ben Vorster, the school attended by a 15 year old racist white boy who publicly and proudly called a black man a “kaff*r!” is located in Ward 15 of Tzaneen Municipality. Yes, a DA Ward. Are we ever gonna hear the DA or its ward Councillor condemn this racism?” his tweet read.
Despite the matter having absolutely no bearing on the ward, the political party running that ward, and least of all the ward Councillor, this statement was turned into a political issue.
The EFF showed up in front of Ben Vorster High on Wednesday afternoon and spoke to the head of the school governing body to demand the school act. Though the march to the school by a very small group of EFF members was not planned, a request to march from Lifestyle center to the GTM buildings was approved by council on the 16th of November. The march was planned against the abuse of state powers, gender-based violence and poor service delivery. But they decided to visit the school at the last minute upon hearing of the incident.
The governing body of Ben Vorster High School in Limpopo immediately launched an investigation after it came to the SGB’s attention that a learner of this school made a racial slur during a live broadcast on social media. The broadcast took place after school hours, was unrelated to school activities and the school was not directly implicated or identified.
“The governing body strongly condemns the incident. It is in direct contrast with the values of the school and is in no way a reflection on the culture of exclusivity at the school,” said Eddie Vorster, Chairperson of the governing body. There is not direct family link between Vorster and the learner.
Vorster said the Limpopo Education Department was informed of the incident and a conversation with the learner and his parents also took place. “The learner showed remorse and realized that his behaviour was unacceptable. The governing body emphasized that in the case of minor children, adult role-players have a duty to educate. The case will be handled in a responsible manner. Everyone from parents to teachers have a duty to contribute to the development of responsible citizens. Inclusivity, respect for others and tolerance are very high on this list.”
He added that the incident will be investigated in accordance with the disciplinary policy and the impact on the school’s reputation will be considered. “As with all sanctions against learners in a disciplinary context, any potential sanctions in this case will be based on the duty to educate. In other words, not only punishment but positive behavioural change.”
Regardless of the outcome of the governing body’s investigation, Vorster said programmes would be developed to inform learners of the various aspects of the school’s ethical code of conduct. “It is not enough to know the values of the school. Learners should also know what these values look like in their everyday lives, inside and outside of the school.”
