The Curro Academy Protea Glen school is at the centre of another racism scandal involving a teacher who has resigned before he could be charged for allegedly insulting pupils.
The grade 6 teacher, who is coloured, was accused of hurling insults regularly at African pupils during Afrikaans lessons.
The insults were allegedly laced with racial undertones, according to a parent who did not want to be named.
The teacher, Rodney George, resigned after it emerged that he was given to using inappropriate and disparaging language laced with derogatory innuendos that suggested his pupils were “dumb” and lacked the capacity to assimilate lessons taught to them in Afrikaans.
The school has recently been entangled in allegations of racism, directed to both black teachers and pupils.
Sources close to the school told Sunday World last week that George had allegedly been using foul and inappropriate language laced with demeaning
expletives – and that this had been a pattern for a long time.
“It took one of the learners to tell his parents that he was insulted by Rodney and that this practice had been a regular feature. After the learner had complained to his parents, the -matter was brought to the attention of the school’s management, and investigations were instituted,” said a source at the school.
Another child who spoke on condition of anonymity about what was happening in George’s classes, told her parent of the teacher’s constant abuse of the pupils and the regular incidents in which insults were hurled at the class, claiming that “we are subjected to a barrage of insults from the teacher”.
Talking to this newspaper, the mother of the child said: “My child told me about this situation where they were being called stupid and f@#*heads (stupid) who did not comprehend anything taught to them in class.
“My daughter told me that they were told by George they were dumb, and he was gatvol of teaching dumb black children who are stupid,” said the parent who asked to remain anonymous since her child is still a pupil at the school.
An insider said that it was bound to happen that one of the pupils would tell their parents regarding what they were allegedly subjected to by their teacher, George.
“After the matter was reported to the school’s management by one of the parents, Rodney was taken to task. However, he resigned from Curro before being hauled before the disciplinary hearing after he was advised to do so by one of the senior officials at the school.
“Rodney resigned shortly after the Easter holidays, a few days before he was expected to be charged for misconduct.
“We are not sure if he also used racial language to the kids, but what we know is that after he was reported by the parent of the child, he was called to give an account, but he chose to resign,” said our source.
George’s behaviour is alleged to have put Curro under immense pressure to act against him since the school had been taking flak due to cases of -racism reported by this publication since last year.
Fergus Sampson, a business executive at the school, said: “Curro confirms that a teacher has resigned his position at Curro Protea Glen after using impolite language towards a learner, which did not constitute racism.
“The teacher resigned before a disciplinary hearing was concluded.
“The school met with the learner and their family, and the matter was amicably resolved.”
About two months ago, the school admitted it had suspended one of its teachers following allegations that she had called black pupils monkeys for “allegedly being disruptive”.
George did not respond to our calls for comment.
