St John's College headmaster Paul Edey on Thursday gave an interview to Talk Radio 702 about a teacher who was found guilty of misconduct relating to racial slurs. The teacher was not suspended, despite a public outcry.
Edey steered clear of calling his comments racist, but was hesitant to repeat what the teacher actually said.
When asked by show host Bongani Bingwa what the teacher, Keith Arlow, had said, Edey called them "stereotypical comments".
Pushed by Bingwa again about what the comments were, Edey said: "Well, comments about... um... referring to race..."
"Explain. Be specific. What did he say to those boys," Bingwa urged him.
Edey then said he "assured" Bingwa that the school was "committed to transformation".
Arlow was found guilty of misconduct in an internal hearing of a racist campaign against South African black, Indian and Greek students, as well as foreign students. He has been given a final written warning but retained by the school.
When asked what Arlow said, Edey said: "There was a comment about boys doing well in tests, or doing badly because they were black."
In an interview with Power FM on Thursday, Edey told Thabo Mdluli: "Can i just contradict you there, Thabo. I would not say this was a racist campaign at all. We don't condone racism of any kind. The hearing was held by an independent senior counsel."
"The comments are stereotypical, and yes they were hurtful," he said.
Listen to both interviews below.