Two learners who drowned at a discipline camp in Centurion said the boys were allegedly abused at the camp.
The learners, Siphamandla Peterson (15) and Sibusiso Sibiya (17), two Daveyton Skills School learners, drowned during a discipline camp at Rock Falls Adventure Ranch in Centurion on Monday, 15 April 2024.
The boys were attending a discipline camp by a non-governmental organisation called the Rising Stars Generation.
According to the Gauteng Department of Education’s Spokesperson, Steve Mabona, the families of the learners have alleged that the pupils were physically assaulted and mistreated.
The Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane visited the school and the respective families of the deceased learners on Wednesday.
“The family brought it to our attention that the kids were abused and assaulted there [at the camp] as part of the exercise.”
The Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) has appointed an independent investigative law firm to probe the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the two learners.
“It was a discipline camp. There are other forms of abuse that the family raised with us. The law firm will investigate all of this and report back to us.
“[Based on the findings of the law firm], we will report this to the police or the Department of Community Safety if we must.
“It is quite unfortunate that we did not get this information [about pupils being allegedly assaulted at camp] from the principal. Ideally, we were supposed to get this from the principal.”
MEC Chiloane furthermore expressed his disappointment at some Gauteng schools for not taking extra precautionary measures to safeguard the lives of learners during excursions, as well as the lack of adherence to protocols about applying for excursions with the Department.
He said disciplinary action would be taken against any person found to have acted negligently, contributing to this fatal incident.
The founder of the discipline camp, Prince Motlou, declined to comment on the allegations of abuse or about the deaths of the learners. He also said this was the ninth camp that they hosted since 2020.
According to information on the organisation’s website, the camps are designed to change the mindset of young people, how they think is what makes then behave in a certain way.
“The camp is not for troublesome kids only. The camp is for any kid, all kids will face challenges in life therefore we prepare them as young as they are so they will have knowledge of ways of life. E.g if your child is not smoking that good but your child still needs to learn why smoking is bad for him/her.”
The videos captured from the camps vividly portray the learners undergoing instruction in a manner reminiscent of military training.
Also read: Here is what we know about the drowning of the learners
“The Rising Stars Generation is a Youth Development NPO that trains young people to become leaders of change and competent in their own fields. Drill out the talent and Install Discipline.”
Prices for these camps per learner are R1500 for five days or R3000 for ten days. This includes food accommodation, camping equipment, and discipline logistics.
Also read: Drowning of two learners happened during a discipline camp in Centurion
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