By Mamolefe Lekalakala-Rapudi
I wonder what the country will be like in 20 years. I wonder what generation we, as a nation, are producing. Is it maybe because we do not care about our children’s future, that we let the government gamble with their education? Is it because we are not as educated as our members of government, or maybe we as citizens don’t matter?
Schools are no longer a safe place where learners and educators can enjoy what they are supposed to be doing: teaching and learning. Nowdays, being an educator is like a never-ending nightmare and torture. Our Education Department is doing nothing to assist educators on how best to manage the situation. It is not putting measures in place to make our working environment friendly and safe.
The department gives learners more rights than responsibilities. Learners have become unruly, irresponsible, disrespectful, violent and uninterested in learning. They do as they please, and get away with it, because there are no consequences. No matter how big the crime, they know they’re protected by the government. I feel like I’m caught between a rock and a hard place; I don’t know what is right and what is wrong any more.
I am supposed to be grooming our learners, because they are the future. How can I expect them to be future leaders when our government is destroying their future by turning a blind eye on what schools are like and how learners behave?
The education system is so corrupt one is tempted to believe they are doing this deliberately in order to disadvantage our learners, especially those from disadvantaged communities, so that they do not make it in life.
Lack of consultation is the key problem of our education system, because the decision-makers do not know what is happening at schools. No one is on the ground, assessing how learners behave. Yet, they have the power to decide what they think is right, forgetting to consult those who are closer to the problem.
Lack of respect for educators and systems on how to discipline learners are some of the frustrations I find myself fighting for. The Department of Education doesn’t listen.
I wonder if the department has the best interest of our black learners at heart. Maybe there are hidden agendas for destroying our learners’ future?
In 20 years, there won’t be doctors or lawyers coming from township or rural schools. Only those who attended Model C schools would have the privilege of becoming doctors and lawyers. As as for the Presidency, it will be like chieftaincy whereby certain surnames will qualify to campaign for president because of who their parents are.
It breaks my heart to see innocent children being used as pawns for political scoring. Their well-being and future depend on those people we put in power and for them to serve us with respect, dignity and equality. They live the high life and forget about us and the promises they made to us.
Feeding schemes at schools are not enough, as when they’re at home they go hungry. Our department must do more to assist its learners, not only taking credit when they pass and blaming educators when they fail. The department must change how things are done and consult those who spend their lives in class with learners.
Teaching is like a bad marriage where you never get your needs met but you stay in it for the sake of the children.
Mamolefe Lekalakala-Rapudi is a qualified teacher who has been teaching for almost 16 years.
The Star