Line drawn between initiation and orientation at Swakop school
ADAM HARTMAN
SWAKOPMUND
Character building, discipline and academic performance are considered respectable outcomes of orientation for new school learners, while practices that could involve physical and psychological abuse under the guise of initiation are against the law.
This was the agreement between parents of grade eight learners of Namib High School at Swakopmund, principal Roosmarie September and Erongo’s education director Ernfriede Stephanus during a meeting recently. The school was threatened with legal action last week after alleged physical and emotional abuse of grade eight learners took place during the school’s annual initiation.
The parents, through their attorney Richard Metcalfe, warned the school to stop the initiation, as this was in contravention of the Basic Education Act of 2020 that provides for the “prohibition of physical and mental violence and initiation practices against learners”.
September provided a report at the meeting in which she highlighted the positive aspects pertaining to the school’s ‘orientation programme’.
“Every year we start with about 180 grade eight learners who come from different schools and different cultures and economic backgrounds, hence our orientation programme,” she said.
According to her, the goal of the programme is to build relationships among new learners, develop team spirit, create “everlasting” memories, and help grade eights understand and appreciate the school’s culture and traditions.
Bonding
She said the learners are divided into small groups with peers hailing from other primary schools and given experiences where they have to rely on one another.
“In this way, we encourage them to get to know each other and form new bonds. The intent is to build character and foster school culture and make the learners one. The intent is and was never to cause any learner harm,” she said, adding that the orientation was done under strict supervision of the learners’ representative council teachers.
The parents, through Metcalfe, emphasised the need for the latter to ensure bullying would not take place.
It was further agreed that the prime concern of orientation would be for the strengthening of character and discipline and the “excellence in all spheres for which Namib High School is known for”, and that this intention would be ensured and preserved.
In fact, learners will at all times be expected to subject themselves to such discipline “without exemption”, the group agreed.
SWAKOPMUND
Character building, discipline and academic performance are considered respectable outcomes of orientation for new school learners, while practices that could involve physical and psychological abuse under the guise of initiation are against the law.
This was the agreement between parents of grade eight learners of Namib High School at Swakopmund, principal Roosmarie September and Erongo’s education director Ernfriede Stephanus during a meeting recently. The school was threatened with legal action last week after alleged physical and emotional abuse of grade eight learners took place during the school’s annual initiation.
The parents, through their attorney Richard Metcalfe, warned the school to stop the initiation, as this was in contravention of the Basic Education Act of 2020 that provides for the “prohibition of physical and mental violence and initiation practices against learners”.
September provided a report at the meeting in which she highlighted the positive aspects pertaining to the school’s ‘orientation programme’.
“Every year we start with about 180 grade eight learners who come from different schools and different cultures and economic backgrounds, hence our orientation programme,” she said.
According to her, the goal of the programme is to build relationships among new learners, develop team spirit, create “everlasting” memories, and help grade eights understand and appreciate the school’s culture and traditions.
Bonding
She said the learners are divided into small groups with peers hailing from other primary schools and given experiences where they have to rely on one another.
“In this way, we encourage them to get to know each other and form new bonds. The intent is to build character and foster school culture and make the learners one. The intent is and was never to cause any learner harm,” she said, adding that the orientation was done under strict supervision of the learners’ representative council teachers.
The parents, through Metcalfe, emphasised the need for the latter to ensure bullying would not take place.
It was further agreed that the prime concern of orientation would be for the strengthening of character and discipline and the “excellence in all spheres for which Namib High School is known for”, and that this intention would be ensured and preserved.
In fact, learners will at all times be expected to subject themselves to such discipline “without exemption”, the group agreed.
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