It's been 21 years since the fall of apartheid, yet on Monday a South African school was accused of racism after it allegedly told black girls to straighten their hair and not wear 'Afro' hairstyles.
Pupils at the Pretoria High School for Girls have said they were forced to chemically straighten their hair and avoid having messy hair.
Over the weekend, students donning African hairstyles and braids protested at the school to express anger over the long-standing rule.
Protests soon erupted on social media with videos and photos and the hashtag #StopRacismAtPretoriaGirlsHigh trending in the area.
A video viewed more than 92,000 times on Facebook showed armed policemen and security officers threatening to arrest the protesting learners, many of whom are eighth graders.
On Monday, Gauteng provincial education minister Panyaza Lesufi visited the government-run school. After speaking to senior staff and students, Lesufi called for an investigation into the matter.
“I am officially appointing an independent investigative body to investigate all allegations made against some teachers, the incidents of 26 and 27 (August) and all issues that the learners faced bordering on racism and all related matters,” Lesufi told reporters on Monday.
The committee will have 21 days to compile a preliminary report.