13 grade 8 pupils burnt during initiation ritual at a Free State school

Four grade 10 pupils from Christiaan De Wet Combined School in the Free State are facing disciplinary action after allegedly burning 13 grade 8 pupils during an initiation ritual this month.

The incident sparked outrage following a social media post showing fresh and old burn marks on the arms of some pupils.

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According to the Free State education department, the burn marks were inflicted on the boys on 12, 13 and 15 November, on a total of 13 pupils.

This incident was reported to the school authorities and the department by members of the representative council of learners.

According to some pupils, the practice is done as part of initiating fellow pupils who “have been part of Christiaan De Wet Combined School hostel boarders”.

Junior pupils are being bullied, intimidated and forcefully burned with hot objects on their arms. Those who resist or defy the order are threatened with more severe objects such as a hot iron on their chests, they said.

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The alleged perpetrators are four grade 10 pupils, who, according to the department, will face disciplinary action for bullying and physically harming other pupils.

The matter was also reported to the police for investigation.

“This is barbaric, atavistic and must stop,” said Free State Education MEC Makalo Mohale.

Parents of the 13 boys have been informed about the incident.

The department is investigating the matter and psycho-social support will be provided to the 13 pupils.

Suicide due to bullying

This comes just as another parent was reeling from the shock of losing her son to suicide due to a bullying incident at a school in Soweto.

Sibusiso Mbatha, a grade 6 pupil from Khehlekile Primary School, who committed suicide on 23 October, suffered abuse allegedly at the hands of staff members at the school.

This was revealed by Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane in a briefing on the findings of an investigation into the circumstances leading to the 12-year-old’s death.

Mbatha was found hanging in his family’s bathroom after allegedly being bullied and verbally attacked.

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