The provincial Department of Education (DoE) hosted a boys’ camp indaba at Tsitsa Falls in Tsolo, last week.
Provincial co-ordinator for school health in the DoE, Teenage Sotyato, said the aim of this indaba was to build these youngsters into responsible citizens. According to Sotyato, this indaba was also attended by members of the police, traditional leaders and non-governmental organisations, who came to play a role in educating these boys.
He said among the things that were discussed in this camp were the causes and possible solutions to the scourge of violence, to ensure that these boys become better people one day.
“We have noticed that when boys come back from the initiation schools they are totally changed from what they used to be. They do not want to take off their caps and want to wear their own clothes to school. Their behaviour totally changes them and sometimes this leads to some of them becoming drop-outs.”
Sotyato said they told them that they should be men within their localities, at school and in their homes. He said that they should respect all people, not only their parents.
“We want them to change their behaviour and sometimes even parents also cause problems because they take their children to bogus initiation schools.
“This causes issues sometimes because these children are ending up having these problems.”
