Cosas has lost its course
I WAS very disturbed to read about the chaotic scenes during the Congress of South African Students (Cosas) march to the offices of the Department of Basic Education in Pretoria.
Cosas has consistently displayed conduct that is unbecoming, and seems to have degenerated into a haven for hooligans.
During the march, shops were broken into and vandalised. Hawkers were attacked and their stands looted.
Looking at the demands of these “pupils ”, one can only be outraged by the absurdity.
Pupils are tired of carrying school bags and want tablets, they claimed. They also demanded that parents take an interest in the education of their children and that condoms be distributed at schools.
They also demanded that the recently dismissed Prasa chief executive, Lucky Montana, be reinstated. He started out as a Cosas member, they said.
The department ’ s spokesman, amazingly, said the issues raised by Cosas were genuine and that they would reply in writing.
What is wrong with school children carrying school bags? Is Cosas suggesting that books are obsolete?
Does the provision of tablets to pupils signal the imminent extinction of the basic and essential scholastic skills of reading and writing?
It is all confusing really, and maybe this is the reason Cosas finds itself overwhelmed by these educational developments.
What is also hard to understand is the demand that parents take an interest in the education of their children. How can the education department enforce such a demand?
The main preoccupation and priority of all pupils should be to do well at school, get good grades and try to carve a niche for themselves in academia or as entrepreneurs.
How the distribution of condoms at schools will advance this cause is anybody ’ s guess.
The reality is that Cosas is defunct.
It is time for all progressive pupils to organise themselves to form an authentic organisation that will articulate the needs and aspirations of the pupils of SA.
This will ensure that the country has a future to look forward to.
Nathaniel Lee, by e-mail