Pretoria - Gauteng MEC for Education Panyaza Lesufi on Tuesday said he was appalled by the “horrifying death” of a Grade 2 pupil from Sekgutlong Primary School in Katlehong.
"It is with great sorrow to hear about the disheartening passing of one of our youngest learners at Sekgutlong Primary School. We rebuke the horrifying acts of the perpetrators involved in the death of this learner, and we wish for the uncompromised safety of all our learners,” said Lesufi.
“Our psycho-social unit will visit the school to provide the necessary counselling (to) those who have been affected by this terrible incident”.
The Gauteng Department of Education said the child had been missing since the weekend.
“She was allegedly raped and murdered and was found in one of the neighbours’ backyards. According to the information at our disposal, a suspect has been apprehended by the police,” said the provincial authorities.
Lesufi expressed his deepest condolences to the family of the learner and denounced the gruesome acts that led to her death.
Earlier this week, the Gauteng Department of Education fired Parktown Boys’ High School principal Malcolm Williams, nine months after the death of Grade 8 pupil Enock Mpianzi, who drowned at the Nyati Bush and Riverbreak Lodge in the North West.
The department said Williams failed to ensure that a roll call was maintained throughout the trip and also allowed the trip without prior approval from the head of department.
Another teacher had forgotten the roll call register in the bus which ferried boys to the camp from Joburg.
In January, the Parktown Boys’ High School Grade 8 orientation camp was cut short when Mpianzi went missing and was feared drowned after a water exercise saw several boys have their makeshift raft capsize.
Mpianzi never made it out of the water alive, but it took over a day before teachers knew that he was missing.
At the time, Williams telephoned Mpianzi’s father to confirm if the Grade 8 pupil was part of the camp. The father confirmed the pupil was on the trip, which led to a frantic search by the police.
In a statement, Steve Mabona, the spokesperson for the Gauteng Department of Education, said the principal had five days to respond to his notice to dismiss letter, which he was served with on Monday.
Williams was found guilty on two allegations of misconduct out of the three he faced.
African News Agency (ANA)