Minister of basic education attends youth dialogue at Laban Motlhabi Comprehensive School

Kwa-Thema – A youth empowerment dialogue tackling teenage pregnancy, bullying, and social and cultural drivers took place at Laban Motlhabi Comprehensive School to commemorate Youth Month on Saturday.
The event was attended by Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga.

The panellists were made up of MMC for Corporate and Shared Services Brandon Pretorius as the city’s acting mayor (in the absence of Mayor Tania Campbell), director of social inclusion Patricia Watson, Prof Boitumelo Diale from the University of Johannesburg and a member of the Ekurhuleni junior council, Khathutshelo Ramanala.
Representing the youth, Ramanala said the youth of June 16, 1976 understood that age is just a number and that age should never measure how much change you can create or the impact you can have within your society.

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“We are also here to celebrate the legacy that they left behind, a legacy of young people who are formidable, goal-driven, game changers and innovative thinkers.
“We are yet another generation of that legacy and we are ama’2000.
“The ones who do not conform to social norms, who do not wait around for society to tell us what to do or who we ought to be,” she stated.

The event also formed part of the minister’s Ministerial Roadshow aimed at promoting the sector’s key interventions such as the newly adopted Early Childhood Development (ECD) function, Matric Second Chance Programme and other collaborative efforts to end violence against children, bullying, discrimination and gender-based violence.
Speaking on the day Motshekga said engaging with young people remains a priority.
“We want to talk about issues that are affecting the youth of today.

“Looking at where we come from, our present and the future.
“The goal is to see them succeed and for that to happen they must work hard,” she said.
She also urged learners to respect one another and to stop prompting violence at schools.
“I honestly do not understand why a learner would come to school with a knife.
“Imagine being 16 years old and already you have a criminal record for killing someone,” added the minister.

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Pretorius said they were excited to be chosen by the department to host this year’s youth commemoration event by the department of basic education.
He said as the city, youth development is something they take seriously and that such events provide an opportunity to reflect on the state of the city of young people and how they can support their developmental needs.

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