Exams loom as learners run after politicians
Keep children away from political rallies, govt urges
The education ministry is worried about the increasing number of children at political gatherings.
While some learners have commenced with national examinations and others are just about two weeks away, the education ministry has raised concerns about school-going children attending political rallies with or without the consent of their parents.
Apart from children attending rallies, these events take place in communities and feature live music shows, with the noise pollution said to be disturbing learners who are studying.
As the country gears up for the 27 November presidential and national assembly elections, some children attending political rallies have been mocked on social media, where they “wear oversized political campaign T-shirts and scramble for food”.
With some of the rallies lasting for more than 10 hours, these young children endure the scorching heat - despite not being eligible to vote yet.
The final exams are taking place earlier this year due to the elections.
Are rallies age-appropriate?
When contacted for comment, the education ministry’s executive director Sanet Steenkamp said concerns have been raised about the matter, but she hastened to add that it is not in the ministry’s mandate to dictate to parents whether their children should attend political rallies or not.
“School-going children attend these rallies with or without the consent of their parents,” she said.
“Now, we wish to state that we do acknowledge parents are what we see as the first teachers and educators at home. So, parents fulfil a role of both educators and protectors. We cannot make a decision for a parent [on whether to] expose his or her child to political rallies. However, we appeal to our parents to consider the maturity, the age appropriateness and the protection of our children in this regard,” Steenkamp added.
“We wish to foster the emotional well-being, the intellectual development of a child, [and that can include] being exposed to community, civic participation and political engagements."
The ministry does not allow political activities to take place at schools.
Structure needed
Steenkamp said the situation becomes even more concerning when children who attend rallies loiter around afterwards.
“And if children attend political rallies and they still loiter around after the rallies, they are unsafe. They're not heading straight home, [and] then it raises great concerns to us,” the executive director said.
“Equally, we wish to state that we want every child to foster independent thoughts, independent thinking and have respect and tolerance for the diversity of opinion. So, we are conscious of the timing, and we really appeal to parents to make much more informed decisions about allowing children to go to political rallies,” she urged.
“We know that political consciousness is something that starts within our homes. We know that’s a fact. So, we need to be mindful and careful that it’s exam time, that we need all the time for a peaceful, quiet exam preparation. We need the support of parents to provide structure at home,” Steenkamp said on behalf of educators.
Apart from children attending rallies, these events take place in communities and feature live music shows, with the noise pollution said to be disturbing learners who are studying.
As the country gears up for the 27 November presidential and national assembly elections, some children attending political rallies have been mocked on social media, where they “wear oversized political campaign T-shirts and scramble for food”.
With some of the rallies lasting for more than 10 hours, these young children endure the scorching heat - despite not being eligible to vote yet.
The final exams are taking place earlier this year due to the elections.
Are rallies age-appropriate?
When contacted for comment, the education ministry’s executive director Sanet Steenkamp said concerns have been raised about the matter, but she hastened to add that it is not in the ministry’s mandate to dictate to parents whether their children should attend political rallies or not.
“School-going children attend these rallies with or without the consent of their parents,” she said.
“Now, we wish to state that we do acknowledge parents are what we see as the first teachers and educators at home. So, parents fulfil a role of both educators and protectors. We cannot make a decision for a parent [on whether to] expose his or her child to political rallies. However, we appeal to our parents to consider the maturity, the age appropriateness and the protection of our children in this regard,” Steenkamp added.
“We wish to foster the emotional well-being, the intellectual development of a child, [and that can include] being exposed to community, civic participation and political engagements."
The ministry does not allow political activities to take place at schools.
Structure needed
Steenkamp said the situation becomes even more concerning when children who attend rallies loiter around afterwards.
“And if children attend political rallies and they still loiter around after the rallies, they are unsafe. They're not heading straight home, [and] then it raises great concerns to us,” the executive director said.
“Equally, we wish to state that we want every child to foster independent thoughts, independent thinking and have respect and tolerance for the diversity of opinion. So, we are conscious of the timing, and we really appeal to parents to make much more informed decisions about allowing children to go to political rallies,” she urged.
“We know that political consciousness is something that starts within our homes. We know that’s a fact. So, we need to be mindful and careful that it’s exam time, that we need all the time for a peaceful, quiet exam preparation. We need the support of parents to provide structure at home,” Steenkamp said on behalf of educators.
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