QUESTION MARKS???: School Kids Gone Wild: Who Is To Blame?

• Without teachers, are our kids safe in schools?
• Should sex be normalised in schools?
• Is this a new breed of delinquents?
• Is home schooling the solution?

In a statement issued after the teachers’ unions meeting with Government on Monday, teachers warned parents that without them in schools, their children were not safe and that they must pull them out of the classroom.

In a video posted on social media on Thursday, Transform Zimbabwe President Jacob Ngarivhume echoed the same message, saying it was unsafe to keep children in schools where only the headmaster/mistress and/or two other teachers were responsible for hundreds of children.

To many, the assumption was that the teachers’ unions and Ngarivhume were talking about safety strictly in terms Covid-19, but alas, there is more.

Learners are involved in debauchery, and videos and images of the teens reported to be pupils in boarding schools engaging in sexual activities are spreading like wildfire on YouTube, Facebook and WhatsApp, revealing the rot that has taken root in schools.

Most parents and the populace in general have been left in shock; they have many questions, whose answers only make the situation more uncomfortable.

For instance, who is to blame for this behaviour by school children? Is it the Government, the striking teachers, the parents and guardians, society or the blame lies squarely on these teenagers’ shoulders?

Without teachers, are our kids safe in schools? What if they impregnate each other? Is this a new breed of delinquents? What can be done to combat this craze? What could be motivating such behaviour? Is the situation still salvageable through guidance and counselling?

The story of four Grade 7 pupils from Nyakatsapa Primary School in Mutasa district who fell pregnant during the Covid-19 lockdown sent shock waves throughout the country.

Tendai Pfachi, a former school development association chairman at the institution told the media that the lockdown period exposed children such as these to selfish predators prying on these innocent souls.

Yet, respected voices like Ngarivhume are urging parents to withdraw their children from school. Which is which here? What should parents do?

For Mathias Marara, a parent and educator, his worry is what kind of future wives, husbands, parents and leaders are being created through the lax school system and apparently equally sloppy parenting and a permissive society.

Mary Mahoka believes the situation in schools, particularly among Form Fours and A-Level students has always been like this but is now being amplified through use of social media.

“Social media is only helping expose these things, they have always existed,” said the 49-year-old mother of three, adding, “It is social media that has caused it by making it easy for our children to have access to pornography and this urge to share and have likes and be the one trending.

“In our days, because some people went to school while they were a bit older, Form Ones and Twos would get pregnant. It is just that now because of technology things seem a bit out of hand.”

In this case, should social media be more regulated? She said they were still good school-going children in schools who use social media for good and only worry about their books.

Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Cain Mathema has added his voice, saying Government is concerned over pupils’ vile footage exposed through social media.

Minister Mathema urged stakeholders to take responsibility in nurturing school children: “The responsibility for every child born in Zimbabwe is that of society as a whole. This is from the parents, guardians, teachers, school head, SDC, authorities at every institution and this is what the constitution says,” said Mathema.

“We are all responsible and it must not be a responsibility for one person. If there are weaknesses in the system, the one responsible for that must be exposed and given an opportunity to explain how one was molested or affected. Why would people spread pictures and videos of such behaviour?”

Could boys/girls only schools help? Or that would create fresh headaches?

Normalising sex in school
For over a decade, there has been a raging debate in Zimbabwe over whether to put contraceptives, among them condoms, in schools.

What had lawmakers and the organisations that actively campaigned for the law to be passed seen? There could be merit to Mahoka’s sentiments, school children are having sex, live with it.

This definitely did not start when schools reopened – these kids have been engaging in sexual activities even during the lockdown, no wonder in the videos circulating some of the kids appear to have several years of experience.

What remains is to ponder over what should be done to ensure they are educated enough on the subject and protected from sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) and unwanted pregnancies.

No doubt this is the new normal, society must accept this and move on. In fact, Government is working to amend the Public Health Services Act in a bid to improve adolescence access to reproductive health

Lost year or lost generation?
Besides safety of Zimbabwe’s school-going teens in public schools, there are a lot more problems that should be dealt with.

With half of the year already affected by lockdown and now being compounded by the teacher’s strike, will students be able to recover lost time? Should we turn to home schooling for our children’s safety? Will public schools catch up with private schools?

It is these aforementioned issues that drove President Mnangagwa to threaten teachers that remain on strike on Thursday.

“I have heard that after schools reopened in Manicaland, only 30 percent of teachers have reported for duty. Let me assure all of you that Government will never be held to ransom by the teachers,” said Mnangagwa.

“By failing to report for duty, they think they will push us to do what they want. No, we are very principled on that. However, we are happy that some have gone back to work.
“We will apply the principle that those who work will get paid. Those who are at home are not considered to be at work,” said President Mnangagwa.

Is home schooling the solution?
To avert the above mentioned scenario, could schooling children at home be the solution? But, already Government has banned teachers from conducting extra lessons out of school premises; now who will teach these children?

Further, parents are always busy with other “pressing” family and home troubles, and not everyone is a teacher.

Could private schools be the answer? Parents who take their children at private schools have the funds and their children are progressing well. On the other hand, in public schools there is no progress at all while exams are just around the corner. Nhau/Indaba