Leave these school camps to the army

While the police investigate the drowning of Parktown Boys’ High School pupil Enoch Mpianzi during a school orientation camp, Gauteng MEC Panyaza Lesufi has promised that the department will put together its own comprehensive report.

Hopefully, both investigations will provide answers to some of the troubling questions around the death of the 13-year-old.

Why were the schoolboys allowed into the river without all of them having life jackets? Were parents required to buy their own life jackets and, if so, why was a child without one allowed to take part in the water activities at the camp? Why did instructors allow the activity when the river was fast-flowing because of recent rain? Why was there no list of names of the pupils? Who was supervising?

We think there needs to be a broader probe of the whole idea of orientation activities for children entering their first year of high school.

These activities often include physical tasks, which are aimed at team building and instilling confidence, but they can leave weaker children feeling inadequate and a target for bullying.

The youngsters are being introduced to a school, not preparing for basic training in the army, so this sort of experience is unnecessary.

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