Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane revealed that not a single teacher was around during the three-day excursion at the Rock Fall Adventure Camping Site in Centurion where two learners aged 13 and 16 drowned. He said the 90 learners from the Daveyton Skills School were left in the care of one social worker and the department will appoint an independent law firm to conduct an investigation into the drowning of the two boys on Monday.

The boys from a special needs school in Benoni, are said to have lost their lives whilst taking part in water activities during a school excursion. Addressing media this morning, Chiloane assured parents that educators responsible for the planning and execution of this trip will have to take accountability for this tragedy. Reports suggest that one of the boys allegedly ran to the river, and the second boy followed him in an attempt to save him which resulted in both of them drowning. "With the help of divers, the bodies of the learners were retrieved. It is irresponsible for schools to avoid responsibility by forcing parents to sign a disclaimer that the school cannot be held responsible in the event of injury or death. With regards to the school, we will employ an independent law firm to get to the bottom of the matter as to what happened. It's not an ideal situation to find we may have to suspend those responsible or take action against them. We don't want that," said Chiloane.

Chiloane said this is not the first incident of a learner drowning and clearly extensive measures need to be taken when water activities are involved. "For us to avoid that situation we want to urge our schools, that should you plan to undertake any trip where you know there will be water, and all these venues have some form of water, whether it's pools, or a lake or a dam because they form part of the tourist attraction, make sure that precautions are taken. Don't assume that where you are going it's going to be okay. These situations come back with repercussions time and time again and we have to go back and explain to families what happened to their child because they entrusted their child to us. You cannot work based on a disclaimer that you have made parents sign, that should anything happen to their child the school is not responsible. You can't do that anymore, it's not right. It means you are conscious of the potential dangers that are there, but you want to protect the school's interest and that's not being fair."