OUR country has been turned into a profit-making arena in which every person thinks only about themselves.

I am also very disturbed by the fact that our youth are no longer enjoying their teens as we used to.

We miss the times when we would go and watch beauty and hunk contests and drum majorettes. We no longer have programmes that offer edutainment. Where have those gone?

Pupils no longer have subjects such as drama, arts, gardening, woodwork and sewing. Their talents are now hidden because there are no longer such activities .

How are we going to produce professional actors and actresses and Miss and Mr South Africas who come from teen talent?

Nowadays pupils sell their bodies to educators to obtain high marks. Some even commit such disturbing criminal acts that you won't find them in the Criminal Procedure Act book. This is because they no longer take part in activities that go with their age.

I am not impressed with their conduct. They no longer respect their elders.

As far as I am concerned these young people no longer know their place in society because they do not play any active role in life.

Fellow youngsters, let us go back to the time when being a teenager was a remarkable experience. In that way crime will be reduced because school children will be engaged in more productive activities after school than the ones we are seeing now.

Let the old times roll!

Jeffrey K. Moloi, Pretoria