CAPE TOWN – The Basic Education Department has expressed concern over a trend of ‘pens down’ parties to mark the end of exams by pupils.
Minister Angie Motshekga was briefing the media earlier on Sunday, ahead of the final exam week.
She highlighted that the celebrations are a hub for underage alcohol abuse, and urged parents to keep a close eye on their children this week.
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“It saddens me to really remind our communities of the tragedy that we saw at Enyobeni Tavern in the Eastern Cape and many other such events, where lives of young people were cut short in incidents that could have been avoided. At this stage, we really want to urge parents, communities, and caregivers to take care of our kids.”
PROTECT SCHOOLS FROM VANDALISM
The minister also urged communities to guard schools over the festive season as they are often targets of vandalism during this period.
The department said over 500 schools were vandalised countrywide between December 2022 and January 2023.
Motshekga said rampant criminal incidents at schools over holidays are a great setback for the department for the upcoming academic year.
“We become very anxious when schools close for a long period. Schools get vandalised and there are a lot of difficulties we normally have. So we want to again appeal to school communities to take care of their schools especially during the December holidays when we experience high levels of vandalism, break-ins, and thefts and we require more cooperation in that sector.”