The mother of a prospective hairdressing student has taken ROC Twente to task for allegedly implying her daughter was too fat for the profession, broadcaster RTV Oost reports.

‘Shame on you, ROC Twente’, the mother wrote in a message on Facebook she asked to be shared as much as possible. ‘This morning she curled her hair, put her make up on and dressed up but no, the ROC only wants size 36 girls for its hairdressing course,’ she wrote.

The girl, who had an introductory chat with two teachers, was allegedly told to lose weight, the mother said, ‘because no salon would employ her’. She accused the school of discrimination.

A spokesperson for the school told the broadcaster that there had been a misunderstanding, but admitted that mistakes had been made.

‘We think vitality and health are important,’ she said. ‘It was explained to her that hairdressers do a lot of standing and that she should take this into account. She interpreted this as our saying she was too heavy.’ However, saying she should see a dietician was a step too far, the spokesperson admitted.

The school commented that it is its task to prepare students for all the aspects of certain professions, such as long periods standing up, but did not know if the same advice is dished out to slim students.

ROC Twente management invited the mother and her daughter for a chat ‘to make a new start’, and the mother responded on Facebook that they had indeed apologised. ‘In any case, we hope that this will never be said again to anyone,’ she added.