A professor of Indian origin at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa sparked controversy after publishing racist statements about South African citizens. Professor Srila Roy, head of the Department of Sociology, described South Africans as having “little ambition, complacency and a poor work ethic” in a message on social media platform X that was later deleted.These comments sparked reactions from academics, politicians and professional groups in South Africa. Roy later apologized for her remarks.“South Africans have little ambition, are self-satisfied and have a poor work ethic (consider this for your xenophobia that we foreigners are supposed to suffer in silence as we shepherd successive generations to university),” Roy wrote in her “racist” post.The remarks came in response to a report issued by the South African Department of Higher Education and Training, which stated that about 7.7 percent of teaching staff in the country are international academics.
Roy claimed that the statements sparked xenophobic attacks, and said that the aim of her blog post was to respond to those attitudes.
Following the row, Tebogo Letsie, a South African Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training, called for action against the Indian-origin professor. Letsie said Roy’s comments were “deeply offensive, insulting and unacceptable, especially from a senior academic charged with teaching, mentoring and shaping the minds of young South Africans”.
Litsey said Wits University’s senior management should investigate the matter and take “appropriate and decisive action” against Roy.Roy issued an apology earlier this week, saying her post was a “swift response to xenophobic attitudes” and that she was sorry for the hurt she caused. She said: “I fully understand that the tweet caused hurt, and I am deeply sorry and apologize for that. Given the painful history of racial stereotypes in South Africa, this tweet was simply wrong, and I take full responsibility for the pain it caused.”She added that her post was not intended to express derogatory opinions towards South Africans or academics, and claimed that her action demonstrated respect for the community she serves. She said: “I want to be absolutely clear that I do not hold such views, and my written work, committees, supervision and direction attest to that.”Despite the apology, the South African Sociological Association (SASA) criticized Roy’s comments and deemed her apology insufficient. SASA said the statements were “problematic, classist, racist and xenophobic” and that they violated the organisation’s principles and values. The association called for Roy’s membership to be suspended and for him to step down from some academic responsibilities.
