The Department Of Basic Education (DBE) has reminded parents and other student guardians that schools may not withhold reports for any reason.

In the past we have seen certain schools use unpaid fees or other unlawful reasons as to why certain students do not receive their reports.

Elijah Mhlanga, Chief Director: Communications & Media: Department of Basic Education, also appears in a short video alongside the announcement to provide some extra information.

“… we don’t want to see parents being stressed again because they are worried that they will go into the December holidays without their children’s reports which schools are withholding, saying that it’s because their children are owing certain monies,” Mhlanga says.

Mhlanga, throughout the video, mentions that this tactic is unlawful and unfair to the children. We also like that he mentions that kids aren’t employed and have no say over any kind of payments. This may seem obvious but it’s important to think about the position kids are in when they are told that they will not be getting their reports when their classmates do.

On the part of the school Mhlanga does point out that the institutions should be communicating with parents, and vice versa, about any issues that could come up which can be solved together.

Many people in the replies to this announcement have pointed problems experienced at the local level with reports and other issues, which highlights  why this communication needs to happen. Rarely does complaining on Twitter lead to any actual change in the real world.

2021 has been another year under lockdown and many students have worked hard under difficult situations to continue learning. We’ve seen issues of withheld report cards in the past and in the current years it seems particularly cruel to roll out this unjust punishment once again.

[WATCH] DBE Spokesperson @ElijahMhlanga on schools not being allowed to withold learner reports. pic.twitter.com/svvNpiIXtM

— Dep. Basic Education (@DBE_SA) December 13, 2021