Gauteng Education says Curro’s value system needs to be investigated

The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) said there is an urgent need to investigate the constitutionality of Curro’s value system and whether there is enough conscientisation of racial equality and human rights across all its institutions and personnel.

Curro Holdings again found itself under scrutiny for its failure to address racial insensitivity at its schools.

This after pictures of a primary school pupils’ career day event published on social media showed a black child posed as a cashier while white children posed as veterinarians, among other professions.

Curro, which acknowledged the post it published “was offensive due to the inappropriate stereotypes”, said it was posted in error and has been deleted.

Racial challenges

GDE spokesperson Steve Mabona said the department has taken note of Curro’s statement regarding its recent social media post which it said conveyed a “racially unbalanced narrative concerning the potential future careers of learners”.

“This acknowledgement, however, should be seen within the background of recent racial challenges that Curro has faced, one of which involved a black educator being called a monkey at one of its institutions.

“The GDE does not take such racial incidents lightly as they may be cultivating attitudes which reflect a society that has not fully dealt with racism, and this poses a threat not only to the education system and the model citizens it envisages to create, but also to a nation that still tirelessly works towards overcoming such attitudes,” Mabona said.

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Accountability

Mabona said it is also important to verify whether there are appropriate means of accountability for those who may refuse to embrace equality and non-racialism at its institutions.

This was not the first time Curro has been accused of perpetuating racial stereotypes and discrimination, according to parents.

Psychologist and childhood development expert Dr Mary Chabuda said “the repeated incidents of racism within Curro schools highlighted a disturbing pattern which cannot be ignored”.

Additional reporting by: Reitumetse Makwea

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