STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF COSAS ON THE RECENT POLITICAL AND EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT INCLUDING THE DISBANDMENT OF THE NEC OF THE ANCYL BY THE RECENT NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING OF THE ANC

ON EDUCATION

The Congress of South African Students is concerned about the rise of substance abuse, gang related violence, practice of satanic rituals and sexual related violation amongst many school in south Africa involving learners. This problem which pastes a gloomy picture of our social conduct as a nation needs to be nipped in the bud decisively. As COSAS we view these problems in serious light. As part of our healthy lifestyle campaign, the national leadership will be conducting school visits to mobilize all stakeholders in education including communities to fight against many of these social ills.

COSAS is concerned about the entrenched barbaric culture of learner/teacher relationship in our schools. We call for all teachers that are romantically involved with learners, accused of one form of sexual violation or another to be dismissed with immediate effect.

These bonafide sex pests have no place in the education system of our country. If these teachers are not dismissed we will mobilize all our male learners to propose either the concerned teachers wife or their female teachers. We will urge them to justify that such a conduct they continue to learn everyday from their male teachers. We will mobilize societies to isolate such elements from teaching our learners and call for the South African Council Educators to deregister such teachers.

We are of the firm conviction that the rise in HIV virus amongst girl learners is a direct result of them engaging in sexual relationship with older men. If such can be left unattended it will doom many bright futures of innocent young girls. We strongly believe that the can never be any justification for this inhuman relationship. We are going to lobby the ANC Government to increase the age category of statutory rape from 16 to 18 years old and to also cover girls that are still in school but overage. This will make it easier for law enforcement officers to take action against older men who abuse young girls. The abuse of young girls by old men has to stop by fire or by force.

During our recent Back to school campaign we were concerned about the dire state of infrastructure in many of our township and rural school. We call upon the Department of Basic Education to invest more in school infrastructure. The gap between black and white schools still exists largely in our society 19 years into our democracy. Government must strive very hard to close this widening gap

ON POLITICS

The Congress of South African Students welcomes unreservedly and without any fear of any contradiction the disbandment of the weak, narrow, myopic and self serving national leadership of the ANCYL. Such a wise and necessary political decision is long overdue. The out gone leadership of the Youth League has failed dismally on its twin task.

1: To mobilize young people behind the vision of the African National Congress of building a united, non racial, non sexist, prosperous and united South Africa.

2: To mobilize young people to strive for their socio, economic and political independence. The disbanded leadership will go down in history as the most counter revolutionary leadership to emerge in the ANCYL.

They have for the a very long time defined themselves completely outside of the African National Congress, one would even mistake them as being a Youth wing of the reactionary DA. We call upon all disciplined members of the African National Congress Youth League to rally behind the decision of the ANC NEC henceforth.

We hope and trust that the culture of gate keeping of membership, promotion of friends to position, running Youth League from the boot of cars and marginalizing many young people who love the ANC and ANCYL from participating in structures of the ANCYL will be a thing of the past.

The Congress of South African Students is combat ready to work with the any structure or personnel that the ANC will entrust with rebuilding the Youth League to once again be a political force to be reckoned with. To the leadership of the ANC We say bravo. Out trust in you in Mangaung was never misplaced.

COSAS does not recognize the fraudulent and bogus leadership of the South African Youth Council elected in Kopanong Hotel and Conference Centre in Benoni last weekend. This is after the constitution of SAYC was trampled upon to achieve a narrow minded leadership outcome.

Half of the delegates left the SAYC TGA after they were also man handled by security when they questioned credentials. We will engage our partners in the PYA on the next step to be taken to ensure that we remove political lump ends and rapist of process from the South African Youth Council

Statement issued by COSAS Secretary General, Tshiamo Tsotetsi, and COSAS President General, Thlologelo Collen Malatjie, March 19 2013

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