• Mon. Oct 14th, 2024

“R100k for discrimination”: Curro Schools’ recent racial microaggression angers SA as history with racism repeats itself

Private school Curro was trending for all the wrong reasons because of a recent promotional photo posted on their social media.

Curro Schools are all over South Africa and have been a go-to private education facility for the middle class in the country.

Located in Bellville, Cape Town, Curro Rosen Castle made a promotional post on Facebook to show what profession their students dream of and it not land well with netizens.

A series of photos shared by Curro Rosen Castle caused an uproar on social media. The photoshoot depicted a black girl as a cashier and a white girl as a veterinarian. See the photos below:

What does Curro have to say about racism allegations?

Many people on social media felt Curro Rosen Castle’s photoshoot was a microaggression as they depicted the black as a minimum wage worker. People complained that because the school has majority black students, the pictures indicated how the school perceived its pupils along racial lines. Others argued that the kids may have chosen the roles themselves.

ClickHub has contacted Curro for comment and awaits their response.

Read people’s comments about Curro below:

@VimleshRajbansi said:

“Why does Curro give the black girl the dream of a job as a cashier while the white girls can dream to become vets?”

@Llekamania_ added:

“They are used to getting away with bad publicity. Most black parents won’t boycott the school regardless of what controversy they’re involved in. We are such a forgiving race, you know. TRC gang.”

@zito142 argued:

“But this is not racist. Parents received those news letters, but wena you see a problem, . Did you even get consent to post those kids?”

@king35amg agreed:

“People must relax, the girl is shop owner, she’s entrepreneurial. That vision is too big, problem is ya’ll think everyone wants work.”

@LotzDomini13137 speculated:

“Just a shot in the dark what if they were given options of where they would like to feature? Kids can surprise you hey, my 3 year old girl wants to be a Uber driver I really do not think anyone would deliberately and brazenly do that especially taking into account past experiences.”


@Zamu2 assumed:

“From my limited experience on this, kids choose these roles themselves. These roles are not assigned by adults in the school. I think we should be careful to label things this way unless we have full details. Else we will lose the significance of calling racist things racist.”

How much do Curro schools cost?

Those who felt that the newsletter pictures were bordering on racism complained that parents pay too much to have their children be subject to racial bias. Curro schools fees are often a hot topic and in 2024, Curro costs from R82 020 – R117 120, the fees increases every three grades.

Many referenced Curro’s past with racism incidents. According to Sunday World there have been incidents of racism at other branches including Curro Academy Wilgeheuwel in Roodepoort and Protea Glen in Soweto. Two Curro teachers lost their jobs after calling students monkeys. The publication also reported that a black teacher at Curro was also called a monkey by a white exec but the educator is the one who lost her job.

@Purple_Virgo21 said:

“Imagine paying +- R100k just for your child to be discriminated.”

Trecia Makhubele

Trecia Makhubele

Trecia Makhubele is a human rights activist, educator, and lawyer who presently resides in China where she teaches homeroom English language arts. Her varied educational background comprises a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and a Bachelor of Social Sciences in Politics and International Studies from Rhodes University. Trecia studied for a Master of Laws (LLM) with a focus on Human Rights and Pandemics at Liverpool John Moores University because she was dedicated to expanding her knowledge of human rights concerns.

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