By Frederick Philander The Grade 12 boy, who allegedly produced the explicit pornographic video clip of a half-naked schoogirl, was yesterday voluntarily withdrawn from the Combretum private school in the capital. This came to light yesterday in a press release by the principal of the private school, Sue Brown. In the meantime, the Minister of Education, Nangolo Mbumba, also yesterday condemned the actions of both learners involved in the incident which has sent shockwaves throughout the community. “We feel that the behaviour of the boy is in stark contrast with our school’s values. Both the boy and his parents have expressed deep regret over the incident, and he has been voluntarily withdrawn from the school,” Sue Brown said in the press statement. Brown also stated that the school was not involved in the incident in any way. “Both participants were over the legal age of consent for sex. The girl was below the legal age to allow filming of sexual activities, but probably neither of the participants was aware of this factor. This was a private matter that has become public, with very serious consequences for both individuals. Furthermore, allegations that the material was distributed from this school appear to be unfounded,” she said. According to Brown, the girl had left Combretum private school before the incident became known. “While her behaviour may be judged as reprehensible and was certainly ill-advised, this is a young girl who made some poor decisions. Pornography is easily available to young people, but advice in making good life judgments is not,” Brown said in the statement. The principal also expressed her admiration for the way her school’s learners responded to the crisis at the private school. “The learners have responded very maturely and sensibly to the incident. They are proud of their school and dislike the effects of the publicity on the school’s name. They realize that the activities of the young people involved in ill-judged sexual activities and, in particular, in filming these, are unacceptable according to the values of our school. But they are concerned for the well-being of their former fellow learners who made such serious mistakes and the long-term consequences for their lives. They are also alarmed by the sensationalism of the reporting, which can only exacerbate the problem,” Brown said. What happened to the girl at David Bezuidenhout Secondary School in Khomasdal should never ever again happen to any Namibian child, was the opinion of the minister of Education, Nangolo Mbumba, when approached for comment on the incident yesterday morning at a ministerial workshop. “I pity the parent who has spent years in raising, protecting and teaching her daughter about life. Now this very big disappointment,” the minister said sympathetically at first. “However, this particular video exposure clip case remains a disgrace to education and is an affront to the entire nation,” said Mbumba during a short press interlude. According to him, teachers and principals need to be constantly more alert and on guard against such behaviour in government schools. In our Monday edition this week, New Era erroneously said the boy was no longer at school. In actual fact, he was until yesterday still at Combretum private school. The clip was last week distributed to mobile phones of learners at various schools in the capital. The girl was voluntarily withdrawn last Friday by her mother from David Bezuidenhout Secondary School.