It has been brought to light that the whole situation was blown out of proportion. Hyde Park High School’s Governing Body (SGB) chairperson Gail Lutz gave a statement that read that the girl learner reported for late coming at the front office on the day in question. She was advised by an administrative member of staff that she needed to pull her hair back a little bit or she could get a detention. At no stage was the learner given detention. There is no record of detention in the register or in a diary that all children receive at the beginning of the school year.

“It was clarified that the mother did not contact the school to query the alleged detention,” said Lutz.
“We furthermore understand that the mother and the young lady did not initiate the contact with the media,” she continued.
The mother asked that it be made very clear that her question regarding the race of the teacher was to ascertain whether the person had an understanding of black hair. In no way did the mother wish to allege racism at Hyde Park High School.

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) visited Hyde Park High School shortly after the above-mentioned meeting and they spoke to the parent of the learner. “We are satisfied that there is no violation of a fundamental right. The school has accepted the Commission’s offer to provide a basic human rights workshop to staff members in April,” said Buang Jones, Gauteng provincial manager, SAHRC.
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Source: Sandton Cronicle