Religious intolerance claims at Durban North school: teachers boycott assembly

ALLEGATIONS of religious intolerance at a Durban North high school have surfaced, with several teachers boycotting the morning assembly due to the "dominance of Christian religious practices".

- NADIA KHAN

The teachers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said for the past two months Hindu teachers at Northwood Boys had embarked on the boycott after making repeated appeals for reforms in the observance of the Christian-dominant religious practice at the school.

In addition, they claimed that their call for constructive engagement had a long history, with teachers calling for engagement to remedy the “biased religious observations” as far back as August 2022.

One teacher alleged in recent years, the dominance of religious practices had intensified with constant Christian prayers being conducted during the morning assembly.

“The affected teachers sit in their classrooms when the assembly is held every Monday morning. They feel disrespected that they are being happily side-lined during an important part of the school day. They wish to also have their religious observance practised at the assembly.

“It is also no longer only in the assembly where this prevails but in the staffroom, school social gatherings, and even in the form of tangible Christian scripture visible at the entrance to the school hall, a practice that contravenes the Department of Basic Education’s policy,” said the teacher.

The teacher further claimed diverse religious prayer observances were not allowed for or accommodated at the school.

“The prayer and reading at the start of assembly is sourced exclusively from the Bible, with no acceptance of other religious scriptural books being allowed to be read from,” the teacher claimed.

Despite raising their concerns with the school governing body (SGB), principal and education department, nothing had been done, the teacher said.