A Retreat mother says her 12-year-old son is being bullied by his teachers and other learners at Bergvliet Primary over his blonde hair and blue eyes.
Candice Parker said her complaints to the school and the Western Cape Education Department have only led to more pain.
“My son, who is in Grade 6, is light-skinned with blond hair while I am dark of complexion and that has somehow caused him to be the victim of unfair discrimination by his teachers,” she says.
“This issue has been going on for years and I complained but I did not get any response but then all of a sudden (last Wednesday) I got an email saying my son has got six demerits on his name.
“Some of them are from the start of this year so I really doubt the validity of their claims against my son.”
The 38-year-old mother says her son has been the victim of bullying by three teachers: “They make remarks about how come my son is light-skinned with blonde hair and if I am really his mother.”
“My son also has blue eyes and the teachers will ask him where did he get it from because neither of me nor my husband have blue eyes.”
She adds: “I personally help my son with his homework and his father is also an educator but they state that his work is not at the appropriate level.
“The worst part is the teachers criticise his work in front of his classmates and they even tear the pages out of his book.”
WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said the department only received communication about the issue on Wednesday and an investigation has been launched while they have made contact with Candice.
She says a meeting has been scheduled for this week.
But Candice doubts that anything will be resolved: “I have emails dating as far back as 2016 and I was told on Wednesday that they change district managers every six months so that means more than 12 people have looked at my complaints but nothing has been done about it.
“I really hope it will be handled as my son’s mental health is suffering from the abuse.”
junior.bester@inl.co.za