MEC Lesufi assures Afrikaans parents their schools are safe
"If non-racialism is something you don't want, unfortunately we'll impose it one you."
That's the word from Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi who has assured Afrikaans-speaking communities that their language and schools were not under threat.
Lesufi briefed the media ahead of the department's budget vote in the provincial legislature.
The Constitutional Court last week ruled that government had the final say in the placement of learners at schools.
The MEC said he was aware that there were fears over the future of single-medium Afrikaans schools, and he would be meeting with the affected communities soon.
"We will explain to Afrikaners that your schools are not under threats. Your language is not under threat. We are calling for a non-racial education system across the board," Lesufi said.
Lesufi said Afrikaners would ask him to convert an English school in an Afrikaans community, which was the same as what he was doing across the board for all cultures and languages.
"We are allowing our children to learn together, to play together, to sing together. What's wrong with six year-olds playing and singing together?" Lesufi asked.