A public school has been forced to apologise after students were photographed wearing racist and inappropriate costumes during a muck-up day.
Rowena Public School in remote north-west NSW came under fire after students were seen dressed as Adolf Hitler and sporting blackface, New Matilda reported.
‘The school unreservedly apologises for two photos that were published yesterday on our Facebook page. They have been removed,’ the school said in a Facebook post.
Rowena Public had just 25 students and two teachers, one of whom is the principal.
Students were told to dress up as historical figures in a muck-up day earlier this month.
One student dressed up as Hitler and wore Nazi emblems.
She was pictured next to another student who painted their face black and wrapped medals around their neck to represent American athlete Jesse Owens.
A smiling school principal Paul Cecil posed with students in the photos.
They were then uploaded to the school’s Facebook page.
Neighbouring towns like Walgett, Collarenebri and Moree have large Aboriginal populations and took the photos as a direct insult.
Following the community uproar, Rowena Public School posted an apology then tore down the Facebook page.
‘These photos were unacceptable,’ the school said.
‘Rowena Public School is a caring and supportive learning environment. We reject racism in all its forms.’
Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Dvir Abramovich told Daily Mail Australia the photos were unacceptable.
‘I am dumbfounded by the level of ignorance demonstrated by this distressing and alarming incident,’ he said.
‘This is not a laughing matter, and we cannot afford to indulge this conduct, and to dismiss this simply as an innocent prank.
‘This is a wake-up call that we all have much work to do in ensuring that all students understand the evils of the Holocaust, as well as the ugly history, dehumanisation and pure bigotry that the blackface represents.’
Dr Abramovich said the costumes illustrated ‘shocking insensitivity’ and that they were demeaning.
‘We should all be asking themselves: where did these young people learn that it was OK to dress up in such costumes?
‘And why did the principal, who is supposed to be a role model, exhibit such a serious lapse in judgement by approving of such conduct and posting those images?’
Dr Abramovich suggested mandatory anti-bias programs and Holocaust education should be rolled out across schools to avoid a repeat of the debacle.
