The Commission’s Human Rights Officer in the North West, Thabang Mabule, says of greater concern is the persistent lack of measures taken to protect children with disabilities. He says they have finalised an investigation into a fire at the North West Secondary School for the Deaf in Leeudoringstad where they found that the school, and the Education Department, failed to comply with legislation and policies. Three teenage girls were burnt to death and 23 others were injured when they jumped from a building which caught fire at this school in 2015. Mabule says they are embarking on a two-day Provincial Investigative Hearing where the department and other state bodies are expected to present measures that can be implemented to address the ongoing safety and security concerns.

The investigative hearing in the North West comes days after a national outcry over the safety of pupils following the death of a five-year-old girl in the Eastern Cape. The five-year-old died after falling into a pit toilet at the Luna primary School in Bizana in the Eastern Cape, last week.

OFM News