The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) is under pressure to release the report into the Brackenfell High School matric ball incident after it said no racist motives were found to be behind it.
The department said last week the report contained confidential or sensitive information and it would not be appropriate to release it.
The EFF said it was not surprised by Education MEC Debbie Schäfer’s decision not to release the report.
The EFF, ANC and other organisations have now lodged a Promotion for Access to Information Act (PAIA) application in a bid to gain access to the report, reports the Cape Argus.
The allegations of racism led to protests by the EFF.
The school was embroiled in a racial scandal after a matric event was held and attended by white students only, the “Masquerade Ball MX’20” which took place on 17 October.
An investigation into the incident had cleared the school of racism, Schäfer said last week.
Instead of releasing the report, she sent out a statement to clear up “the many inaccuracies” around the incident, and to protect a third party cited in the document.
“People may submit a PAIA application, which would enable us to deal appropriately with such information, as well as obtain any necessary consent to release it,” she said.
ANC provincial spokesperson on education Khalid Sayed, said they were very disturbed that the MEC refused to make the report public, given that she had already expressed her views on the matter even before the investigation.
“This points to the possibility of an attempt to cover-up any wrong doing at the school as has been the case with WCED’s favourable treatment of former Model C schools,” he said.
“We have subsequently on Friday lodged an official PAIA request for the report to be made available.”
Brackenfell High School’s governing body (SGB) chairperson Guillaume Smith had no comment on the subject.
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