The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) wants the Curro Independent School Network to implement race education programmes to avoid future ‘racist’ incidents.
The call comes just days after Curro faced backlash from irate Netizens over an advert that went viral due to the racial stereotypes it depicted.
At the weekend, IOL reported that the advert raised the ire of many on X (formerly Twitter). It showed a black child “employed” as a cashier while a white child was “employed” as a veterinarian.
Curro has apologised for the now-deleted post.
In a statement, Curro reiterated its commitment to diversity and non-racialism in its schools.
"Curro Holdings acknowledges that a post we published on social media portraying children in various workplace contexts was offensive due to the inappropriate stereotypes it depicted.
“The post was in error and has been deleted. We apologise for the offence caused and are urgently following our internal processes to understand fully the circumstances of the post to ensure that such an error is not repeated in the future,“ Curro said.
However, Cosatu national spokesperson Matthew Parks, said the latest blunder was concerning and a red flag.
Parks called for action and accountability, adding that there also needs to be a system in place where students can raise their concerns in a safe space without fear of intimidation.
The Department of Education in Gauteng has called for and investigations of Curro’s value system.
GDE spokesperson, Steve Mabona, said there needs to be an investigation into whether there is enough conscientisation of racial equality and human rights across all its institutions and personnel.
He said while the department acknowledged Curro’s response to the advert, Curro has faced other racial challenges, including an incident where a teacher allegedly called black learners monkeys.
"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.
He said it is also pertinent to verify whether there are indeed appropriate means of accountability for those who may refuse to embrace equality and non-racialism at its institutions.
Last year, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) condemned racism allegations where the institution’s executive head allegedly called a fellow black woman teacher a monkey.
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