Hoërskool HF Verwoerd renamed to Rietondale Secondary
The Gauteng Education Department has officially approved the renaming of Hoërskool HF Verwoerd in the north of Tshwane to Rietondale Secondary School.
In 2018, parents at the school voted in favour of a new name for the school.
School Governing Body chairperson Olga Veldsman told Jacaranda FM then that it was time to change and allow a breath of fresh air.
Gauteng Education spokesperson Steve Mabona says the school has conformed to all the regulations and now has to finalise the process of renaming of the school.
"This process was started by the school community to support the SGB and all officials that are at the school to say this name must be changed.
"As we know HF Verwoerd, those are the architectures of apartheid so such names don't belong in the new South Africa. So the school decided it needs to do away with the name and we supported them," Mabona said.
Mabona adds that the department is working tirelessly to change the legacy that apartheid left behind within schools.
Today, we formally approved the renaming of Höerskool HF Verwoerd to Rietodale Secondary School. My mission in this world is to reverse everything this man called Verwoerd has done to our education system. Others names like Jan Smuts will also fall #NomoreHöerskoolHFVerwoerd pic.twitter.com/pUdoq3KkQJ
— Panyaza Lesufi (@Lesufi) May 20, 2019