The Importance Of Youth Education

I think Aberdeen will concur with me that education should be our number one priority. Today’s youth need to ask the question “What do we owe the youth of '76''. In whatever we say about the youth of the past, we should remember 1976. In that year, the Department of Education fuelled an already volatile situation by decreeing that the language of instruction in all schools had to be Afrikaans. Between 15000 and 20000 school students in Soweto embarked on a peaceful protest march on June 16. The South African Police force, which was caught unawares, struggled to end the protest. They blockaded roads and ordered the students to return to their homes. When the students refused, they released dogs and teargas into the crowd. When this proved ineffective, they began firing into the crowd, killing students randomly.
The official death toll from that day was 23, however some estimate that as many as 600 students might have been killed. Among these students was twelve-year-old Hector Pieterson. Samuel Nzima's photograph of Mbuyisa Makhubo carrying the bleeding body of Hector, alerted the world to the atrocities of the state violence and has subsequently become the iconic image of the Soweto Student Uprising. Thirty years later, June 16th is, to many, nothing more than another public holiday. Do the South African youth take for granted the freedoms which they have today? Is it an act of betrayal or trivialisation if you plan to just enjoy the day off? Or is it a celebration of freedom won? Should Youth Day be spent in sombre remembrance of those who fought and died for freedom? I think we should emphasize the importance of getting education and the significance of the 1976 uprising to our youth.
It is important that the education for the youth aims at developing a social awareness in these adults-to-be. It is important that the training given to them consists of environmental education. Values like saving animals, curbing deforestation and controlling pollution (amongst others) should be inculcated in the youth of today. Youth education should highlight present-day problems faced by society. Our youth might come up with innovative solutions to current problems. Education should aim at fostering good practices and principles in the youth, in such a way as to make them automatically make the correct choices in life and consciously rejecting the bad ones. Education should motivate the youth to come forward to work for society. It should instill in them a feeling that they belong to the society and that it is their responsibility to drive it forward on a righteous path.
All I'm saying to the Aberdeen youth is that the fundamental purpose of education is to create good human beings. Education is vital to the healthy growth and development of one's personality. In making the “beings” “human” so as to produce “human beings”, lies the importance of education to the youth.

Article By: Lulamile Klassen

Aberdeen Police Act Against Drug Abuse

On Friday 6th of February 2009, local Aberdeen police officers together with the Drug/Dog Unit and the Dog/Explosives Unit of Graaff-Reinet, successfully arrested two male suspects at two separate houses in Lotusville who were in possession of dagga. This ‘Intelligence Driven Operation’ was carried out with information received from an anonymous source. These two suspects are now in custody and will appear in the Magistrates Court in Jansenville on 9th February 2009. Aberdeen as yet has no resident magistrate. It must be noted to all concerned citizens that information may be given to the police by dialing 10111.

Article By: Joan Tinker

Aberdeen Residents Asked To Heed The Call

The Aberdeen South African Police Service is crying out to the communities of Aberdeen, Lotusville and Thembalisizwe to get involved in their own specific Sector Policing Committee. The Sector Commanders who are police officials of the S.A.P.S. have had numerous attempts in the past year to get these Sector Policing Committees up and running. Meetings have been advertised but the response has not been good.
It is essential for the good of the communities of Aberdeen Town, Lotusville and Thembalisizwe that these ‘forums’ are established. These structures have in the past proved immensely helpful to the residents. It must not be forgotten that having the Traffic Police in Aberdeen Town was as a result of the Aberdeen Police Sector Forum Committee.
On 17th February 2009, a meeting will be held in the S.A.P.S. lecture room at the police station at 16:00. This will be the first meeting to try and establish a working committee.
The Aberdeen Police are pleading with concerned residents of all three areas to attend this meeting, and to assist the police by fighting crime together with them. Their message is to please ACT with the police - “AGAINST CRIME TOGETHER”.

Article By: Joan Tinker