A Grade 12 learner from Leagathoko Secondary School in Limpopo, allegedly drowned after skipping extra class lessons and instead went swimming.
MEC for Education in Limpopo Mavhungu Lerule-Ramakhanya said they were disturbed by the incident.
Lerule-Ramakhanya urged learners to stay away from overflowing streams and rivers.
It is alleged that a male learner did not attend extra lessons with his classmates as expected, but instead went swimming in the Olifants River with his friends.
The incident occurred on Thursday afternoon in the east of Sekhukhune.
The department said teachers were notified about the incident by learners who witnessed the drowning. “The search for the body by police divers is currently under way,” it said.
The department said it was working with the police on the matter and the circumstances of how the learners left the school premises would be probed.
In March, a similar incident occurred in Durban where two Gauteng school boys from the Hoërskool Birchleigh in Grade 10 and 12, allegedly drowned while on a beach trip, rugby tour.
In 2020, a Grade 8 learner at Parktown Boys Enoch Mpianzi drowned during a school orientation trip in the North West.
IOL