Another white teacher at Curro Academy has jumped ship after the school suspended her for allegedly calling a black pupil with albinism a monkey.
The female teacher, known to Sunday World only as Van Tonder, worked at the Curro Academy Wilgeheuwel in Roodepoort, west of Johannesburg.
She resigned from her job after Curro iced her for allegedly racially abusing the grade 10 pupil in full view of his schoolmates.
On Thursday last week, this reporter visited the school and spoke to the school’s executive head, Wynand Eksteen regarding the matter. Eksteen confirmed that Van Tonder was no longer an employee at the school.
“She is no longer at this school,” Eksteen said.
“The child was in grade 10 when that happened. I shouldn’t be talking to you regarding this as Curro is taking a punch lately,” Eksteen added.
On Friday, Curro Holdings confirmed that Van Tonder had resigned from Curro Wilgeheuwel, after being suspended for the alleged incident, which further leaves a blot on the reputation of the popular institution.
“Curro Holdings confirms that a teacher at Curro Academy Wilgeheuwel summarily resigned last year after she was made aware of serious allegations of misconduct against her.
“The incident occurred on October 25, 2023, and was dealt with swiftly. The teacher was suspended on October 26 and was charged with gross misconduct for behaviour that may have contravened the Curro Code of Ethics, the Curro Code of Good Practice, the Curro
Disciplinary Code, and other professional standards,” said Curro Holdings.
The company running private schools across the country also stated that the incident was handled with “great sensitivity” as it involved a vulnerable child at the school. “The school, in consultation with the learner’s parents, provided counselling.
“The handling and outcome of this incident are consistent with Curro’s zero-tolerance approach to behavior which is contrary to our values and which we deal with through thorough, fair, and legally compliant processes.
“Across all its 180 schools, Curro Holdings reiterates that it is completely committed to unity, racial cohesion, and dignity for all. We do not condone any form of discrimination, bullying, intolerance, hate speech, or derogatory language,” said Curro.
The racial attack on the pupil comes two weeks after we exposed another racist incident at Curro Protea Glen, in Soweto, where an Indian school teacher, Tayabah Jadwat, addressed three black learners as monkeys during her class.
Jadwat was suspended by the school on the same day we sent questions in relation to the incident, which was recorded in an audio clip and circulated at the school. The pupils’ sin was that they made noise while she was teaching them in the classroom.
Last week, one of the parents of the pupils said that his child made him aware of Jadwat’s racist rant last year. He said he also listened to the recording.
He said he did not take action immediately because he wanted the school to communicate with them, but that did not happen. “I didn’t act at that time, as I was waiting for the school to deal with this matter, but nothing happened,” said the father.
Last year, Curro Protea Glen sent a white executive head, Shanette Tiquin, packing after being found guilty of calling a black teacher a monkey.
