Johannesburg - The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in partnership with the Department of Basic Education (DBE) has launched its annual Schools Democracy Programme (SDP) on Thursday at Platinum Village Primary and Secondary school in Rustenburg, North West.
In its 11th year, the IEC said the programme aimed at encouraging active citizenry among young learners throughout the country by engaging them in civic and democracy education and voter registration activities.
In 2022, the IEC’s SDP reached 160 000 learners at 2 000 schools, and saw more than 30 000 learners registered to vote. The 2023 SDP edition was launched by Education Minister, Angie Motshekga and IEC commissioner, Dhaya Pillay.
The IEC Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Sy Mamabolo, said it was their goal to create a new generation of active citizens, proud to register, participate in elections and begin to shape their own future.
“It is appropriate that, as part of the national celebration of Freedom Month, our efforts to get young South Africans to play an active part in creating their own future reaches a new level through this intensely focused Schools Democracy Programme.
“The SDP is about empowering the young citizens of South Africa with the knowledge, skills and attitudes for active citizenship, and encouraging them to register and vote is critical to nurturing our maturing democracy. This is supported by research that shows that once people have voted, they usually continue to vote in future elections,” Mamabolo said.
Addressing pupils, Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, said the programme was an important launch pad to a broader continuous Democracy Education Programme, which is offered at schools in Human Rights and Values Education as part of Life Orientation.
During the school democracy week, Motshekga said the department and commission would collaborate in different provinces to embark on a campaign that aims to reinforce the curriculum offering on human rights, democracy and civic education.
The SDP is part of a larger youth democracy programme and the commission said the objective was to improve these numbers.
According to IEC, the objective of the campaign, especially in the run-up to the 2024 general elections, is to:
- Educate youth citizens about their civic and democratic rights and responsibilities.
- Engage youth citizens’ views about electoral democracy and impact of participation thereof through debate.
- Empower the learner and student electorate with information to participate meaningfully in democratic and electoral processes.
- Promote and conduct online voter registration using voter management devices at targeted schools and tertiary education campuses.
"The programme will see regional staff of the IEC visiting schools, both primary or General Education and Training (GET) schools, and high or Further Education and Training (FET) schools, nationwide.
"During their visits, election officials will distribute advocacy materials, and engage with learners to hold debates on civic and democracy education topics. Other activities include mock elections where learners play the role of election officials and voters.
"Learners in the possession of an SA ID document will be able to register at aged 16 years and older as voters on the day," IEC said.
Current Affairs