Anger over proposal to allow alcohol sales at schools

The South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) and some parents are opposed to a proposal which could allow booze to be sold and drunk on school premises under certain conditions.

They feel that even if alcohol is sold and consumed only at fund-raising events, seeing teachers and parents drinking at school would set a bad example for pupils.

Amendments to the South African Schools Act were proposed recently by the department of basic education.

Minister Angie Motshekga intends to introduce the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill 2021 to the National Assembly “shortly”.

Sadtu general secretary Mugwena Maluleke said while they supported some of the issues raised in the School Education Amendment Bill, selling alcohol on school premises during private events to boost fund-raising was a huge problem for the union

“We have said it before on record about the issue of alcohol. No school should be allowed really to deal with alcohol, because alcohol is for people above the age of 18 years,” Maluleke said.

Some outraged parents said it was not a good idea for pupils to be exposed to teachers and parents who were under the influence of either drugs or alcohol while on school premises, as it would seem as though the teachers were promoting it.

One, Kgothatso Molefe, said teachers and parents were seen as role models and, most importantly, that pupils adapted easily and what children see, they would also do. The amendment was basically telling them it was acceptable to consume alcohol at school.

“You can’t have an age limit for bars and clubs and still bring alcohol to underage pupils in their comfort space, or where they spend most of their time,” she said.

“Funds have been raised before without alcohol being part of it. At the end of the day, fundraisers are about the pupils and not so much about parents and teachers. It’s ridiculous and unacceptable.”

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Another parent, Gloria Mpe, said having alcohol in schools would not set a good example for the children.

“As a parent, I would not be at ease sending my kids to school knowing there is alcohol. I just find myself asking a lot of questions as to who and how is the idea going to run.

“Minister Motshekga must think about other effective ways to raise funds. School and alcohol do not and should not be mixed. We all know how alcohol affects children and how it would affect the entire teaching and learning process.”

According to the proposed amendments, provision would be made for certain exceptions to the prohibition to allow the school governing body, on application from any person and in consultation with the head of department, to permit the possession, consumption or sale of liquor in certain cases, on certain conditions and subject to certain restrictions.

“This amendment was informed by the fact that alcohol has a place in our society, if it is consumed responsibly, and by the fact that events at which alcohol is present form an important part of the fund-raising activities of most schools,” the Bill reads.

Schools already rent out their halls and sports fields for weddings and private functions so if alcohol was completely forbidden on school grounds, “schools would lose the income they currently receive from those events”.

Some of the proposed changes included the definition corporal punishment, which is described as “a deliberate act of inflicting pain or physical discomfort on a pupil”.

Motshekga gazetted the explanatory summary of the Bill this month, as required by the rules of parliament, which also said parents who failed to ensure their children attended school could be jailed for a year as it would make it compulsory for children to start school in grade R.

Highlights of what the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill 2021 seeks to amend:

(1) the South African Schools Act, 1996;
(b) to make attendance of grade R compulsory;
(c) to amend the penalty provision in cases where the parent, or any other person, without just cause, prevents a pupil who is subject to compulsory attendance from attending school;
(d) to make it an offence to interrupt, disrupt or hinder school activities;
(e) to provide that teachers, principals and school governing bodies are accountable and responsible for the pupils in their care;
(f) to enhance the authority of the heads of department in relation to the admission of a pupil to a public school,
after consultation with the governing body of the school; to provide that the governing body of a public school must submit the admission and language policies of the public school to the heads of department for approval;
(g) to provide that South African sign language has the status of an official language for the purposes of learning at public schools;
(k) to refine the provisions relating to the possession of drugs on school premises or during school activities and
to provide for conditions under which liquor may be possessed, sold or consumed on school premises or during school activities;
(l) to refine the provisions relating to suspension and expulsion from public schools by inserting a definition of serious misconduct;
(m) to prohibit corporal punishment and initiation practices during school activities and at hostels accommodating pupils from schools.