Initiation schools shut down

With the winter initiation season barely starting the Provincial Initiation Coordinating Committee (PICC) has already shut down 14 illegal initiation schools and rescued 67 male initiates in Bojanala Platinum, Dr Kenneth Kaunda and Ngaka Modiri Molema Districts.

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The shutdowns were done during the extensive monitoring operations across the province to ensure that all schools operating during the period are compliant with the Customary Initiation Act of 2021, which provides for the effective regulation of customary initiation practices.

The PICC and SAPS are also inundated with calls from parents reporting cases of missing young boys who are believed to have been abducted by principals of bogus schools, who in turn demand a huge ransom from parents.