Mpumalanga’s education department is to investigate allegations that Grade 8 children suffered knee injuries during initiation at a Nelspruit high school.
MPUMALANGA’S education department will send an official to a Nelspruit high school where some Grade 8 children suffered knee injuries during initiation.
Nelspruit district head, Dr CG Shube, said on Wednesday he was satisfied with a report from the principal of Hoerskool Bergvlam that orientation rather than initiation occurred at the school and that the school first approved all Grade 8 exercises.
Shube said his office would nevertheless send an official to investigate complaints of children being forced to memorise demeaning slogans, fall down on the floor in front of matrics and crawl like babies until their knees bled. He said such behaviour was not conducive to character-building.
An upset mother laid charges of assault against the prefects after her daughter’s knees were injured and became septic after she was forced to crawl as fast as possible on a school field. The resultant scarring has dashed any hopes of her daughter having a modelling career, said Mrs Christine Rossouw.
The State Prosecutor decided not to take the matter against the prefects to court, but urged the department to investigate.
— African Eye News Service, January 27, 2000.