OPINIONISTA: Safety at schools must extend to the embrace of symbols of cultural and religious diversity

The genesis of the school year is a time of heightened and hybrid emotions for all involved in the industry of education. On the one hand, there is the excitement and enthusiasm that accompanies the potential and prospects that any new undertaking presents. On the other hand, especially for those entering a new learning environment for the first time, this new academic year may be the source of anguished anticipation.

This occurs despite the fact that while schools and their governing bodies have the authority to dictate the day-to-day management of the school as well as the development and implementation of policies, the Department of Education have continuously instructed schools to develop policies that honour constitutional commitments to equality, fairness and inclusion, especially in matters related to religious and cultural practices.

Pedagogues of all varieties but especially school administrators and teachers, wield enormous power in determining whether the experience of the learning environment is affirming or traumatic. We cannot afford to fail both sets of pupils and all those who find themselves somewhere in between lest we betray the values upon which our very fragile democracy depends.

Unfortunately, school administrators and teachers, your hijab-wearing, dreadlocked and black pupils are most likely to be subjected to the kind of scrutiny and surveillance that narrow school dress code policy imbibes for the rest of their lives. At airport security, in dusty characterised by racial, cultural and religious homogeneity and in multitudes of seemingly innocuous social and public spaces, these pupils will be required to account for how they present in public.

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