EDITOR – This is an open letter on the #FeesMustFall: Government undermined our parental authority.
According to Impact Radio, the Government (Blade Nzimande) is now calling on parents to take control of their student children. Mr. Nzimande stated that “students just want to
demand, and some are not even willing to listen and engage.” During the past months, some university buildings have been torched, teargas, rocks and rubber bullets went flying and
academic studies for hundreds of students have been disrupted with the fees must fall campaign. Now, as this current unrest results in the financial loss of millions, communities
are starting to demand that the Minister of Higher Education and other Government officials must fall for the loss of control of our student children.
Reflecting on this, we came to the conclusion that things are as they are because our Government, through legislation, has so often in the past interfered with our rights as parents.
Indeed, they have removed our rights as parents to teach our children obedience and respect for authority and incited our youth to be activists regardless of consequences to others.
Firstly, it was our Government that exemplified to today’s youth that there are no consequences to hooliganism and anarchy. Indeed, times have changed and now South
Africans must pay for this mismanagement.
Was it not this same Government that implemented a gender confusing curriculum that opened the doors to free sex, orientation issues and moral bending norms that has resulted
in even teachers impregnating our children. We can’t even ask our 12-year-old girls (or boys) where they spent the night, for fear of ending up in court. It is this same Government that
wants to legalize prostitution, distribute locally-manufactured-below-standard condoms to school children: now they steal our children, educate them to disregard authority, but in
the same breath tell us to control our students!
It is time for the Government to wake up and face the #FeesMustFall fiasco themselves. Are they not teaching our children to be cheeky, to misbehave, to protest because of hair issues,
while we, the parents sent them to school to study? Is it not the government that is speaking about legalizing medicinal use of dagga and now our children are given dagga at school to
experiment with? Indeed, some of our children have been stolen by drug dealers to sell 200 packets of dagga at school each day. No wonder they fail mathematics, but are skilled in
sexual exploits, drug use, porn knowledge and cyberbullying.
Yes, our Government, rolemodeled the rebellion and corruption. Our Government, through dishonesty and deceit, built mansions for themselves, gave golden handshakes to their partners in crime and appointed criminals. It is our Government that “is not respectful, (does not) exercise control over corrupted power… (but is) interested in sending everyone opposing him to the grave” (Zak Yacoob, struggle icon & former Constitutional court judge, News24, 2016.09.17), that now calls on us the parents, to teach our children respect for all. And now our Government blames us, the parents for this university fiasco? They call on us, the parents, to beg our children to respect those in authority? No, this #FeesMustFall is now your indaba, Mr Government. You were the one that stole our children from us, and taught them your manipulative ways. You have to face this music on your own, until 2019, when we will vote for those who give parents a voice.
Mamazane Maphanga
CYPSA: Vice Spokesperson
Concerned Young People of South Africa
