Racism: Whites Get Higher Pay than Blacks in Abuja French School

White teachers enjoy bumper packeages alongside with basic salaries while their black counterparts only get basic salaries in Abuja French school.

A French school, Ecole Francaise Marcel, located in the highbrow Prince and Princess Estate by Games Village, Abuja, is alleged to be practising racial discrimination especially amongst its teaching staff, and operating without the supervision of relevant Nigerian education authorities, because according to the director of the school, the French Embassy advised the school authorities to be “discrete’’ in their operations.

When newsmen visited the school yesterday to confirm the allegations, the director of the school, Mr Serge Leandri, declined comments, insisting that he must have the school lawyer by his side before answering their questions.

LEADERSHIP Friday investigations during the visit revealed the existence of great salary disparity between the white and the black workers. The black teachers are only entitled to basic salaries without any form of allowances while their white counterparts enjoy bumper packages.

Most of the French teaching staff were without degree certificates, and are mostly secondary school drop-outs back home in their country. There is no Nigerian educational curriculum in place as the school runs purely French educational curriculum, yet highly placed Nigerians have children in the school.

Mr Leandri was said to seriously harbour hatred for blacks as he has been alleged to openly confess same. One of the aggrieved teachers in the school who pleaded anonymity said the director advised her to “endure insults from school pupils because I am black.’’

An English teacher in the school, Miss Joan Akemu, had petitioned the Public Complaints Commission, alleging among other things, arbitrary termination of employment contracts without entitlements, racism and denial of fair hearing, as well as maltreatment of black employees. (Leadership)