Letters: School system ‘bastardised’

The definition of “bastardise” is “to corrupt something or make it impure by adding new elements”. An example of usage of the word “bastardise”: The schooling system of late has been “bastardised”.
I say this because some schools operate with a bureaucratic ignorance governed by gender-political, kitchen type alliances and moderately uneducated SGB members whose sole function is to uplift only the interests of their own children within the system.
It is a very mutually parasitic affiliation these members have with the educator fraternity in that the SGB thwarts valid parental concerns on schooling issues in return for favourable rewards from the educators toward their children.
The latest thing that yanks my chain is the idea of marketing Valentine’s Day to scholars! Are we now openly condoning boy and girlfriend relationships at school, at such tender ages – for a certain payable fee? Surely you lot can think out of the box to raise funds rather than being reduced to drawing ideas from your bedrooms? I would rather they focused children’s exuberance on plays, concerts, speech and drama, debating and other extra mural activities that add educational value to our little ones!
Is this all a sign of a confused system with individuals who avidly seek to bastardise the schooling system? I am a parent who believes this is wrong. I hope this will cause other parents out there to question how their children are educated and to not assume that everything done at school is right. You should question the qualifications of those SGB members that want to run the show. Can they even write a business plan or make presentations to stakeholders to draw funding?
R.GOVENDER
Tongaat