Hoërskool Hendrik Verwoerd officially renamed
Hoërskool Hendrik Verwoerd in Pretoria has officially been renamed Rietondale High School.
This comes after teachers, parents, pupils and community members applied to the Gauteng Department of Education requesting a name change.
While many have said changing the school's name is disregarding its history, education MEC Panyaza Lesufi begs to differ.
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"I am here on behalf of the department and the leadership of this province to declare one thing: That we don't hate HF Verwoerd nor the name of this school, we are only here to restore and reclaim our dignity. We here to emphasize one point, that indeed we might have a past that was not right and we don't want to be reminded of it. The new name will ensure that all our children know that they are all welcome to this school."
Pupils have welcomed the name change, saying it was embarrassing and uncomfortable for them to use the old name.
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