A form of state capture creeping into South African schools

Author and attorney Richard Wilkinson argues that the controversy at Pretoria High School for Girls (PHSG) is not an isolated incident.

Rather, it is but a stark example of how state interventions in schools often have nothing to do with combating racism and everything to do with exerting power and control, particularly in well-performing model C schools.

Speaking to Newsday, Wilkinson discussed a recent, albeit “very small victory”, where the Labour Court ordered the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) to finalise a grievance lodged by PHSG principal, Phillipa Erasmus.

This court mandate, compelling the head of department to “appoint an official to consider, determine and finalise the grievance,” shines a spotlight on what Wilkinson describes as the principal’s “ludicrous persecution” and a broader sinister network involved in “school capture.”

The grievance, lodged in October 2024, details allegations of “intimidation and abuse by a departmental official” who visited the school following initial but later debunked reports of racist behavior among 12 pupils. 

According to the South African Teacher Union’s (SAOU’s) Dems Nel, this official allegedly allowed pupils to hurl abuse at Erasmus and other teachers without stepping in to support or protect them and “acted in an inappropriate and abusive manner towards Erasmus and her educators”. 

Wilkinson said that the department initially “just ignored the grievance,” necessitating Erasmus’s recourse to the Labour Court. 

The court also ordered the department to cover the legal costs of the SAOU, which represented the principal of the 123-year-old Pretoria school.

Wilkinson said that “this victory is a critical step in holding officials accountable, even though litigation is notoriously slow and expensive.”

But, this recent legal skirmish is but one front in what Wilkinson terms a “far bigger battle” in revealing a calculated effort towards the “political capture of schools.”

From racism allegations to being guilty of pruning roses

The PHSG saga erupted in July 2024 after claims that a “whites-only” WhatsApp group led to the suspension and disciplinary action against 12 learners.

The girls were later cleared, despite the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) and much of the media having already branded them guilty in the court of public opinion.

Gauteng MEC for Education Matome Chiloane then launched a new probe into the school for an alleged “culture of racism”, appointing Mdladlamba Attorneys as “independent” investigator, with its long-standing ties to the Department and lucrative fees.

Several senior staff were suspended as his inquiry dragged on for 95 days.

In November 2024, Mdladlamba and Chiloane announced that disciplinary action would be taken against the principal, deputy, acting principal, two teachers, the HR manager, the estate manager, and the SGB chair.

Parliamentary’s Select Committee on Education endorsed the GDE’s narrative. Chairperson Makhi Feni said the probe showed racism was “still rampant in white schools,” highlighting the political alignment behind the department’s stance.

The SGB’s attempts to obtain the report through PAIA were rejected, and urgent court action collapsed after a judge signaled bias.

Former President Thabo Mbeki intervened. After meeting stakeholders and reviewing the WhatsApp transcript at the heart of the scandal, he issued a scathing 13-page letter to Premier Panyaza Lesufi and MEC Chiloane.

He condemned “egregious abuses of power” and confirming there was “no manifestation” of racism in the learners’ messages.

Mbeki accused the Department of being “determined at all costs to smear the school with the charge of racism.”

Nevertheless, the pressure escalated. In March 2025, Parliament’s Portfolio Committee subjected principal Erasmus to more than four hours of hostile questioning by MPs, while disciplinary proceedings against her and others continued, ending in guilty verdicts.

Based on Mdladlamba’s unpublished report, the GDE charged principal Mrs Erasmus with three counts of misconduct.

The first, linked to the “racist” WhatsApp group, was dismissed, confirming that even the Department’s own lawyers accepted there was no racism and that Erasmus acted appropriately.

Instead, she was found guilty on two minor issues.

The first concerned the finance manager’s appointment, though this was made by the school governing body, not her. At most, she was faulted for not giving sufficient advice, said Wilkinson.

The second related to her husband volunteering in the gardens. Despite SGB approval, Erasmus was held liable for allowing him to “improperly supervise” staff and use an SGB-owned bakkie to fetch supplies.

Wilkinson ridiculed the charges as “really just allegations of misgovernance,” mockingly summing it up as Erasmus being “guilty of pruning the roses.” Erasmus is now appealing, but he admits he has little chance of success.

Democratic Alliance Gauteng MPL Sergio Isa Dos Santos has also slammed the saga.

He said that “finding a principal guilty of her husband assisting the school, without compensation, is not only absurd but also shows a department more focused on saving face than on achieving justice or improving educational outcomes.”

“The department’s handling of disciplinary issues has become increasingly erratic and inconsistent, often appearing to be influenced by political agendas.”

The Gauteng Department of Education

Wilkinson sees the GDE as central to the problem, with provincial leadership right from the top being “hostile towards racial minorities.”

He said their politics amount not to wokeness but “a crude form of racial nationalism” that still “dovetails with wokeness quite well,” enabling them to exploit South Africa’s racial anxieties for political gain.

The result, he argues, is a “deeply untrustworthy and sinister provincial education department.”

Responding to why PHSG is a target, Wilkinson called it “a mix of envy, jealousy, greed, loathing, opportunism.

“Perhaps its status as one of Gauteng’s historic heritage schools is intolerable to the racial nationalists and ideological Marxists who dominate the province’s leadership.”

“Perhaps its academic excellence is an embarrassment in the face of widespread educational failure elsewhere.”

“Undoubtedly, its sound financial standing presents an attractive target for the ANC and its allies in the South African Democratic Teachers’ Union,” he added.

Other provinces have seen similar incidents, but none as extreme, he says. Still, Wilkinson emphasises that politicians are not always required to spark controversy.

He calls the phenomenon “a virus” affecting the entire English-speaking world, with much of the turmoil in private schools arising independently of the MEC.

Media complicity and distorted narratives

A significant enabler of this “school capture” is segments of the media, says Wilkinson.

He recounts a successful Press Council case where they argued that the Daily Maverick was “publishing content that was not a fair reflection of what was going on and that was very hostile towards the wrongfully accused girls”.

While they achieved a retraction and apology from the publication, the 20-day complaint window made it difficult to challenge other publications exhibiting “tendentious and completely unfair” reporting.

Wilkinson contends that “large parts of the press… have got a problem when it comes to ideology”.

He suggests many journalists, having been “indoctrinated into the principles of critical race theory” and often act as “activists,” quick to “jump on a story like this and promote the line of the department.”

The media’s role in “amplifying the narrative” creates immense stress, bullying individuals into “apologising or being found guilty for things they didn’t do”.

Wilkinson calls for exposing the “pattern of abuse” in schools, where “a sinister network of consultants, journalists, politicians and sometimes deeply unethical lawyers” conspire to manufacture scandals.

By continually revealing this, he hopes the “juggernaut will lose momentum” and be exposed as “a bit of a farce.”

With a growing grassroots network of parents, teachers, lawyers, unions and civil society taking on cases like Pretoria Girls, Wilkinson believes that this how “we can stem the tide” of school capture.

“What is at stake,” he warns, “is not merely her career or the future of one school, but the future of education itself.”

Newsday contacted the GDE for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication. If a response is received, it will be added.