Initiation schools were formed to introduce young boys to manhood and the practice; it’s most common among the Xhosa-speaking people. Each year young boys leave their homes and attend initiation schools at a mountain for a period of three to four weeks. The practice involves circumcision and the teaching of laws to the initiates. The practice is dangerous and can result in the death of participants if correct measures are not followed. 

The Eastern Cape 2021 December initiation school tragedy

Last year, in the Eastern Cape province, 23 young boys lost their lives in different initiation schools. In the beginning, it was unclear what could have caused the death of the 23 initiates. Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), confirmed the deaths in an official statement. Most of the lives of initiates were saved by the monitoring teams who got involved by conducting medical check-ups on the initiates in different initiation schools across the province. The death of initiates happened in both legal and unlawful schools. Many initiates who died were from the Tambo and Alfred Nzo districts, and they were attending unlawful initiation schools. It was later discovered that most of the initiates’ deaths were caused by abuse, neglect, and dehydration. Parents of the initiates instructed the traditional nurses not to give the initiates water to drink, leading most initiates to dehydrate. At the end of the initiation, schools season the death toll rose to 34.

What Parents and initiation establishers should ensure

• Parents should take this case as a lesson to prevent their children from attending initiation schools.
• Firstly establishers of initiation schools should follow the correct circumcision techniques to ensure that they apply safety measures and stop the abuse of initiates.
• Secondly, they should promote the doctor’s involvement to check the healing process of the initiates.
• Lastly, as stated by the South African constitution, they should not welcome young boys under the age of 6 years to participate in their practice.

Conclusion

The burning of initiation schools in South Africa can be seen as a war against blacks’ cultural beliefs, but it can save many young and old boys’ lives. Many initiates establishers do not care about the lives of the initiates but the money that will come from the initiate’s families. The practice is now seen as a business opportunity for many; some individuals break the law by opening initiation schools without being registered and having proper knowledge of conducting the practice.