The Sunday Mail
Harmony Agere and Veronica Gwaze
when schools reopened for examination classes on September 28 after a six-month hiatus, it was ordinarily expected that learners would frantically try to catch up with their studies and make up for lost time.
However, this was not the case in some schools. Images and video clips of uniformed learners smoking cigarettes — or worse drugs — kissing and having lap dances and striptease in school premises and classes have inundated social media platforms.
While some of the clips are admittedly foreign, the use of local languages in others betrays school delinquencies in some of the recently reopened institutions. In one of the lewd videos, excitable learners could be heard saying, “Scott akutochema, swedera padhuze, Maud, utambe zvakanaka (Scot is almost in tears, move closer to him, Maud, and give him a proper lap dance.”
Concerned authorities have taken notice. “These and other disturbing social media posts have forced some parents to withdraw their children from school.
“. . . parents have been complaining that their children are left unsupervised and those at boarding schools and even day schools are reporting that children are engaging in sex and drugs, and other bad behaviour because no one is supervising them,” Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Primary and Secondary Education chair Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga said during a virtual meeting with the ministry’s permanent secretary, Mrs Tumisang Thabela.
Primary and Secondary Education Minister Ambassador Cain Mathema has since encouraged people to volunteer information where such behaviour is taking place in order to pave way for exhaustive investigations.
“We will go out of our way to stop every criminal activity that will be taking place in schools. So we are ready to listen to everybody, to every parent, to every guardian, to every community member. To adults, I say if you see any indecent activity by any child, please bring that information to my office.”
Trauma
While indiscipline has always existed in schools, the situation seems to be getting out of hand. Although some attribute this to current lack of supervision, others believe learners might be hung over from the inordinately long coronavirus-induced holiday.
Experts and child protection groups, however, opine the wayward behaviour displayed by some learners on social media platforms over the last couple of weeks as a manifestation of psychological trauma experienced by the minors during the lockdown period.
Schools and colleges were shut on March 24 as Government pre-emptively tried to stop the spread of Covid-19.Pyschologist Blessed Chinyangare told The Sunday Mail Society that learners could be steaming off after spending most of their time in lockdown.
“Everyone needs frequent time to socialise, meet new people and acquire new ideas, but the pandemic disrupted that pattern and so when pupils get that moment, worse without supervision, a lot is bound to happen,” he said.
“Peer pressure plays a big role at this stage; learners mislead each other into bad behaviour and try out new things like sexual activities, taking drugs and the like. There is need to educate these pupils on what is right and wrong, the dangers of drug abuse such as addiction, unwanted pregnancy, etcetera.”
Childline Zimbabwe humanitarian and knowledge manager Herzel Mukandi believes the behaviour exhibited by some learners could be tell-tale signs of the abuse they might have endured during the lockdown period.
“Remember, gross effects of abuse manifest later. The videos we are seeing circulating could be effects of the abuse that some of these children went through long back,” said Mukandi.
“This is a lead. Organisations and schools need to investigate these issues. I feel there is more to it than just deviance as many would think.”
Blame
Psychologist and Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) lecturer Dr Molly Manyonganise blames both teachers and parents for failing to keep learners in line.“Remember, once at school, the child’s teacher acts in loco parentis (in the place of a parent). And kids being kids, once they know that no one is watching them, they can act in weird ways,” she said.
“The other thing is, the kids could have been doing this even before the lockdown. It might now be coming out because teachers that usually monitor the use of electronic gadgets at school are not doing so.”
Incumbent Child president Mukudzeishe Madzivire said learners might possibly be having unrestricted access to social media and X-rated websites.
“What is happening is disturbing and a big reason to worry about considering that it does not only damage the schools’ reputation, but is a bad influence to other learners,” he said.
“This thing needs collective effort, which means teachers, parents and us — the learners — are part of the process. Let the sense of national pride take the lead, and only that way can your conscience tell you what to and what not to do.”
Some learners who talked to The Sunday Mail Society said the current delinquencies are only shocking because they are now being recorded and distributed via social media.
“Had it not been due to social media, they would have never known about these things. But the truth is that it has happened over generations. I take drugs and alcohol at home, thus nothing will stop me from doing so at school,” said Tichaona Mupera (not his real name) from a local college in the capital.
Tafara, an Ordinary Level learner from Mandedza High School in Wedza, said they usually get alcohol by using older guys in the community as mules.
“We ask older guys from the neighbourhood to buy the whiskey bottles for us. Most of the times, I do my own shopping for school groceries which gives me an opportunity to purchase some alcohol,” explained Tafara.
“This is a tradition in schools and it seems to be working because we never get caught and even the parents do not find out. We buy clear whisky to avoid discolouring the drink, lest we get caught.”
Kudzanai, a Form Five student from a mission school in Goromonzi, said they sometimes escape from school premises during the night to go and buy beer and drugs at growth points. Her dangerously innovative colleagues bring substances like dagga (marijuana) stashed in groceries or bed linen.
Some even have the audacity to sell the stuff to their colleagues.
“We have some that are not into drugs but love having romantic relationships. For some it will be just normal curdling but others go all the way and have actual sex. These days it is even worse with less monitoring.”
One parent, Mrs Mary Chandisaita, mother to a Form Four learner enrolled at a Group A boarding school, blamed authorities for the misdemeanours.
“As parents, we cannot be that careless. Being a mother, you pack your child’s stuff making sure everything is right,” she said.
“Some parents take their children shopping, hence there is no way they can buy things like alcohol, so it is at school where things then go wrong.”
Mr Morris Rambanepasi, whose Upper Sixth son was expelled from school late last year after he was caught drunk, said only those without children can be good parents.
“I was surprised because I never thought he had access to alcohol or any drug until he opened up. I drove him to school every term unaware that he was smuggling drugs into the school.
“Most parents may want to dismiss this but it is actually happening. He made the confessions during his hearing. These kids need help and serious counselling,” he said.
