Dialogue: Racism in schools

The objectives of this dialogue are to:

1. a) Gain an understanding of the possible root causes of racism surfacing particularly in the school environment by engaging experts in the field, learners, teachers, school principals and parents;
2. b) Reflection by all participants in order to probe what role each could unknowingly be playing in perpetuating racist conduct in the school environment and how same could be addressed;
3. c) Gain an understanding as to why racism remains prevalent in schools despite existing policies and what steps can be taken in order to address same;
4. d) Where possible, seek to find solutions that will address the identified possible root causes which could include diversity training amongst others;

e) Develop partnerships and networks with relevant stakeholders in order to develop more effective channels through which cases of alleged racism can be addressed.

South African Human Rights Commission

Cape Town