WHEN any organisation takes on the responsibility of looking after our children and training them to make them better citizens for the good of the individual and the country, the last thing parents and friends expect to happen is the death of a son or daughter.

Even one death is totally unacceptable and the people accountable for such a tragedy should be made to face the music.

The programme and personnel should be assessed and evaluated to find out if even an iota of negligence had been the cause of the tragedy. All shortcomings should be addressed before proceeding with the next intake.

If no one less than the director-general of the National Service programme himself can say in the face of such a tragedy that the programme, “will not be scrapped just because of one or two deaths”, what does it tell you about the people in charge of it.

It is not one or two deaths, it is 16. I say scrap the programme. I don’t have any children of National Service age but I come into contact with hundreds of children of that age and have met many.

Perhaps someone or some group not involved at all with this project should interview all those who have gone through this programme to find out what actually goes on when a person reports sick. If I had a child of National Service age, I would not allow them to attend this programme.

Source: NST – May 16, 2008