Although it may not be among issues that are discussed frequently, ancestral callings do occur in schools across the country. One provincial department has experienced them more often than others.
Ancestral callings have always been a touchy subject that is frequently misunderstood, especially when school learners are involved. The KwaZulu-Natal Basic Education Department recently encountered situations where students at its schools had ancestral callings.
In giving his commentary on the matter, Historian and Umsamo Institute Founder, Dr. V.V.O Mkhize stated that the government is not handling the matter appropriately. He adds that the provincial department’s decision to host an IIndaba in September does not amount to a tangible solution.
According to Mkhize, key stakeholders such as parents, school governing bodies, teachers, principals as well as education must be more involved when engaging in these types of interventions.
Those are the key four stakeholders to me who must address this issue but I don’t agree with the way our government is tackling it in the province, saying that there must be a huge Indaba in September and so on. Why are we academizing this thing? To me writing a synopsis paper talking about it doesn’t address the issue.
He further points out that the parents should be the first to be approached when an ancestral calling incident occurs, and then a solution must be sorted out by the parent along with the above-mentioned stakeholders
Secretary of the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) in the province, Nomarashiya Caluza went on to say that the intervening school must take into account a wide variety of factors when resolving issues of this nature.
These issues include the affected family’s beliefs, cultural norms, and dignity as well as how these incidents affect teachers as employees in the education sector.
“What is important is for the school to understand that it’s not operating in an isolation or on an island at all times the constitution must reign supreme in terms of respecting each other and also be accommodative and tolerant of each other’s beliefs. No one must be discriminated against as the constitution guides.” She further stated
She also points out that School Governing Bodies (SGBs) cannot currently develop policies that are not exclusionary or discriminative to learners and teachers in the event of these incidents happening.
