By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Gauteng Education Department has revealed that the principal of Daveyton Skills School was remiss in her duties as the head of the school following the drownings of two pupils.
The two learners Siphamandla Peterson and Sibusiso Sibiya drowned while on a school camp at a site near the Hennops River in Centurion.
Gauteng MEC of Education Matome Chiloane appointed Seanego Attorneys to probe the deaths.
At the time, he said that the disciplinary process against one staffer had already begun.
According to the investigation, the school principal made all the decisions regarding the camp on her own and did not follow any procedures.
The firm’s Thembekile Graham released the findings of the probe on Tuesday.
Graham said the school’s principal failed to get prior approval for the trip from the district office.
“No approval was granted by the department. The school did not submit any application for the trip as required in terms of Regulation 7 of the Tour Regulations on Domestic and International Tours for Learners at Public Schools. Crucial safety measures were, as a result, not adhered to by the school, and which could not be identified and corrected by the department.”
The report states that no educators were appointed to accompany the pupils on the trip. Instead, the principal instructed that only the social workers may go along and supervise the pupils.
At the camp, 19 facilitators from the non-profit organisation Rising Stars were on site.
“This was not in accordance with the educator-learner ratio prescribed by the Tour Regulations, i.e. at least one male educator accompanies every 20 male learners, and at least one female educator accompanies every 20 female learners or part thereof,” Graham added.
It’s emerged that two memorandums were sent to schools across Gauteng, outlining the processes when planning excursions for pupils.
According to the attorneys, despite signing and acknowledging receipt of the memo in January this year, the principal claimed ignorance.
“We were provided with the email attaching the memo with the details of all the recipients,” said Graham.
“We can confirm that Daveyton Skills School was included in the list of recipients, addressed to the principal on 30 January 2024. To add further, we also received a copy of the acknowledgment of the memo signed by the principal dated 5 February 2024.
“The memo is clear and urged schools to obtain departmental approval for a tour by applying to the District Director at least three months before the departure date of the tour.”
“By failing to get the requisite approval, several safety checks were overlooked.”
Briefing both families on the outcome of the findings of the investigative report, Chiloane says the Department did not authorise the camp.
“…the school principal will be acted upon, already as I have said earlier, we had requested her to report at the district in the interim while we are doing the investigation. Now that we are done, we are moving straight into a disciplinary process and within that, we have proposed suspension.”
Matome also expressed concern that the school governing body (SGB) was unaware of the camp, as they had not been informed. As a result, the SGB could not ensure the campsite was suitable for pupils or that teachers accompanied the pupils.