Pretoria - The Eastern Cape Health Department is currently raiding illegal initiation schools in the province in a bid to ensure that further lives are not lost during botched circumcisions.
Department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said: "Our role as the department is to save lives."
During the visits, which are conducted jointly with the police, the illegal schools will be shut down. The department has shut down 34 illegal initiation schools to date.
"We are now raiding all the illegal initiations schools, the owners are arrested," Kupelo said.
If arrested, one faces a jail term of 1 to 15 years or a fine.
Kupelo added that he was concerned about the number of parents who were reluctant to press charges against the owners of illegal initiation schools.
In a bid to prevent unnecessary deaths or injuries, the department has over the years provided training to traditional surgeons. Department officials also monitor traditional surgeons during circumcisions ensuring that all health regulations are followed during circumcisions.
The department has also issued policy guidelines on the establishment of initiation schools.
According to the guidelines, one must first get permission from the local traditional leader and the department.
Many survivors have had to be rushed to hospital with mutilated genitals, which had to be amputated to save their lives.
The department has urged parents to verify the legitimacy of a school before sending their children there.
