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- The Gauteng education department has accepted the investigative report into the death of a Laerskool Bekker pupil.
- MEC Panyaza Lesufi says a legal team will be sent to the family to discuss a settlement.
- The probe found the teachers supervising the pupil had been negligent.
Panyaza Lesufi, the MEC for Education in Gauteng, says the department accepts the report of an investigation into the death of Laerskool Bekker pupil, Keamohetswe Seboko.
"We have accepted the report, which indicated that the department is liable, and we are releasing our legal team this week to speak to the legal team of the family to arrive at an acceptable settlement.
"We have no intention of opposing anything that will come from the family. We just want it to be acceptable and reasonable because these are public funds," he said on Saturday.
Lesufi met with the school governing body (SGB) and the school management team of Laerskool Bekker.
He briefed the media on the recommendations of an investigative report emanating from the circumstances surrounding the death of Seboko.
Seboko, 13, drowned at the school during a swimming activity, News24 reported.
He died on the same day as Parktown Boys' High School pupil Enock Mpianzi, who was swept away in the Crocodile River during a school camp in the North West.
READ | Probe into death of Laerskool Bekker pupil Keamohetswe Seboko finds teachers were negligent
News24 earlier reported that a probe into the 13-year-old's death found the teachers supervising Seboko and his schoolmates were negligent.
In addition, the report found that, based on evidence, the boy drowned and no foul play was involved.
Lesufi had previously said that, because the report by an independent law firm found the school liable, by extension the department was liable for the pupil's death.
"We must emphasise that this is a sad incident. We are still saddened and we are hopeful that this process will assist us to close this chapter once and for all," Lesufi told the media outside the school on Saturday.
SGB Chairperson Willie Dry, who said he had just received a summary of the report, said they reserve their right to go through the report and advise their legal team.
"It is very comforting to know the MEC is prepared to take our hand and walk the path to finalise this because it has been hard on our school.
"There have been a lot of allegations we had to take on the chin, and I am glad that we can get to a point where we can finalise this," he said.
