South Africa: Booze, dagga on 1st day of school

Ahhh - the new school year has started in South Africa. Last year's Matric (Year 12) pass rate was 67% - but we all know that this is a random figure the ANC government came up with to hide the year-on-year pass rate downward trend. The pass rate for 2009 was only 60%, down from 63% the previous year. On average, the pass rate has been dropping by 3% annually and now this year, miraculously, the pass rate rose by 7%! This happened despite all the disruptive strikes and the Soccer World Cup last year. Please go ahead and Google the pass rate to find out just how "selective" the ANC were when they reported the pass rate (fool me once shame on me....). Anyhow, fresh from all the controversy the Matric pass rate has stirred comes this fine example of the South Africa "youth" on their way to school. Municipal workers took the photos of these students learners drinking alcohol whilst walking to school. Hau! Looks like Hunters Dry is their poison of choice. Not only have they caught these learners drinking but authorities have also discovered a school sport field being used to grow cannabis (dagga/weed). And, desks have been stolen for fire wood. Yes, I can see how South Africa can be proud of the morals they've not only instilled in their "youth", but in their sheeple as well. I guess they'll be looking to these fine gentlemen to run their BEE companies one day. Or, maybe I have it wrong and the reason for the 7% increase of the Matric pass rate is due to alcohol and dagga??

Pretoria - With education authorities claiming that the first day of the 2011 school year "proceeded well", news reports on Thursday revealed some pupils were drinking ciders, supposedly on their way to school.

According to other reports one high school had a dagga field "the size of a football field", and at another, parts of the desks had allegedly been stolen for firewood.

Under the front page headline "Booze High", the Sowetan newspaper published pictures of three high school pupils in uniform, from two schools in Kagiso near Krugersdorp, drinking cider.

It reported that two of the boys came from Madiba Combined School, while the third was identified as attending Mandisa Shiceka Secondary School.

The Sowetan quoted Madiba's deputy principal Salthiel Dijoe promising to take action against the two pupils.

Dagga plantation

In another article it reported that pupils at Boitumelong High School in Tembisa "will attend classes in a yard infested with dagga plants". The plantation was "the size of a soccer field".

With photographs showing the plantation, the report quoted a seven-year-old as saying: "I can show you what a dagga plant looks like. People smoke it every day in the yard."

According to the article the yard was meant to be a sports field.

On the front page of South Africa's largest circulating daily newspaper, the Daily Sun, were photos of pupils from Alexandra High School sitting at the metal frames of what were once desks. According to the report, the wood had been stolen for fire wood.

Both newspapers reported that attempts to obtain comment from the Gauteng education department had been unsuccessful.

On Wednesday department spokesperson Charles Phahlane said: "We are pleased that the first day of schooling in Gauteng proceeded well."

On Thursday Sapa was not able to immediately obtain reaction from the department on the reports.

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