A Tauranga college says no one will be punished following an investigation into a fatal minivan crash in Kenya but accepts its systems to guide overseas trips were not strong enough.
Three New Zealand volunteers - former student Caitlin Dixon and Tauranga couple Brian and Grace Johnston - and the official Kenyan driver Christopher Mmata died when the vehicle rolled into a ditch while 18-year-old former student David Fellows was driving.
After investigating the incident, Bethlehem College says no disciplinary action will be taken but its documents will now make clear that vehicles must not be driven by students.
The large group of volunteers was travelling from the port city of Kisumu to the small village of Mahanga when the crash occurred on 15 January this year.
The volunteers were in Kenya as part of Bethlehem College's missionary programme.
The college's investigation has revealed Mr Mmata had encouraged David Fellows to take the wheel as part of the Kenyan experience.
It says two other teenagers had also been allowed to drive by several adult leaders at various times on the trip.
The college says the minivan was carrying two more people than it should have been and many were not wearing seatbelts.
The school initially said Mr Mmata was the driver and it took almost two weeks before the truth was revealed.
The investigation found the leader in Kenya had prioritised helping the injured and getting the volunteers back to New Zealand.
The school's board of trustees refused to criticise that decision and says no parent in a difficult environment under extreme stress would have made a different decision.
It says in the future all serious incidents or risks must be reported to the principal.
The investigation found that the school's systems to guide overseas trips were not strong enough. They will now be updated to explicitly ban students from driving.
