Learners really the ones on the losing side with protest marches at Overvaal

25 January 2018

The protests at Hoërskool Overvaal prove that the ANC and its affiliates, like Cosatu, Sadtu, Cosas and the EFF, have absolutely no regard for the Constitution and the law in South Africa. The learners, all of them, are the ones that are really on the losing side, says Dr Pieter Groenewald, leader of the FF Plus.

Dr Groenewald says that it is not only the school’s Constitutional right to offer mother-tongue instruction in Afrikaans, but that it is also the right of the learners and teachers to learn and teach in a peaceful environment without disruptions.

He adds that exploiting learners from nearby schools by making them join in the protest marches is unacceptable as it creates racial tension amongst the youth that is part of a generation that was born long after the abolishment of apartheid.

“It is regrettable that morally bankrupt parties and organisations are willing to sacrifice the youth, and the goodwill amongst them, by stirring up racial tension for their own political gain.

“A good example of this goodwill is the statements of a young black man that are currently doing the rounds on social media and in the media.

“Last week, the young man, Mr Kamo Tjelele, posted on his personal Facebook profile that he was a learner at Hoërskool Overvaal and that he never experienced any form of racism. On the contrary, he wrote that he only made friends there, and not enemies.

“It is this spirit of goodwill amongst the youth that is damaged by the desperate parties and organisations in their attempts at gaining support. It impairs quality education, which is crucial for properly training and empowering the youth so that they can ultimately contribute to the country’s economic growth.

“The FF Plus condemns these protest actions because they do not comply with the outline of a peaceful protest as stipulated in the Constitution, but only provoke anarchy that actually undermines the Constitution.

“I am already busy discussing the matter of the future of Afrikaans as language of instruction in the Education system at the highest political level so as to create a win-win situation for all,” says Dr Groenewald.

Issued by Pieter Groenewald, FF Plus Leader, 25 January 2018