Blackman urges parents to enforce court conditions for children

Parents need to ensure that children who come into conflict with the law comply with court orders, Minister of Education Transformation Chad Blackman has warned, saying that too many are not receiving the support needed to correct their behaviour.

During Tuesday’s House of Assembly debate on the Penal System Reform (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to give judges greater flexibility to consider relevant previous convictions, Blackman said too many parents were failing to enforce court instructions intended to help students correct their behaviour.

“It is one of the reasons why I have made it very clear that there must be a strong, very strong role of parents and families in the effort of ensuring that students do the right thing,” he said.