Learners experience life behind bars

BARBERTON – Learners from EJ Singwane and Bongihlahla secondary school came in their numbers yesterday at the Juvile Centre and experience life behind bars.This comes after the department of community, safety, security and liaison in collaboration with the department of education organised a school visit to the prison as a way of teaching learners that crime does not pay.

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Speaking at the gathering, the MEC for community, safety, security and liaison, Pat Ngomane raised a serious concern regarding learners who cooperate with drag dealers and sell drugs to their peers in school premises.

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“It’s a disgrace what is happening in schools. Our children are smoking and selling Nyaope. Today we want to give them an opportunity to interact with the offenders so that they can be aware of the negative impact of indulging in substance abuse and end up doing crime and spend the rest of their lives behind bars. I hope what they have learnt today will be an eye-opener. I must say we are not going to win this battle alone as a department, we need parents to be hands-on in terms of monitoring their children and point out those people who are destroying the future of the youngsters by exposing them to drugs.”