Police are investigating seven Eastern Cape primary school boys aged between 10 and 13 for allegedly raping three girls, all aged under 10, at a school’s hostels.Six of the accused were allegedly also raped by the eldest in the group, who, according to the victims, sometimes directed them to sexually assault each other.
Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane has suspended the head of the department of education, Naledi Mbude, over the delay in delivering textbooks and the forfeiture of a R200m grant meant for school infrastructure.
Certain as the sun will rise in the east and set in the west tomorrow, it seems every academic year would be incomplete without the often shambolic delivery and in some instances non-delivery of textbooks to schoolchildren.
Isn’t it sad that the headline “Give us our textbooks, East Cape schools plead” fails to move readers any more? Not because our readers do not care, but because it no longer has shock value. In other words, it reflects the norm and is no longer surprising, particularly in the Eastern Cape.