swaziland times

EZULWINI – Head teachers say some children in orphanages are causing chaos and making the learning environment in schools unfavourable.

According to the principals, some orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) have become rebellious towards their teachers and are no longer able to receive education. The situation is so serious that school administrators have called for the establishment of a children’s court to deal with disobedient students in schools. These issues were discussed by more than 1,000 principals at a meeting with Education and Training Minister Owen Nxumalo at the Somnjalose High School auditorium yesterday. Deputy Prime Minister Thuli Dladla, whose office is responsible for the guardianship of vulnerable children, was also present at the meeting. The Ministry of Education and its stakeholders met with the principals to get first-hand information on the issues affecting the operation of schools across the country. The campaigns mainly focus on Orphans and Vulnerable Children Grants, Free Primary Education (FPE), School Feeding Programme and Zero Grade Education, which are seen as issues causing frustration in schools across the country.

Uncooperative

Most head teachers share the same sentiment and although they are willing to give their full support to orphans, they find themselves losing interest due to the uncooperativeness of some orphans in class. Siphasha Dlamini spoke first and said some children from orphanages were causing disruptions in schools, which deteriorated the learning environment. Dlamini said the problem was deeper than people thought because it stemmed from anger issues in children growing up. She said some children still harbor anger about not being cared for by relatives and guardians.

“Some OVCs are difficult to manage because they take their anger to school. They do not cooperate in class; instead, create chaos as soon as they are called to class. We think it is better to remove them from the classroom and keep the cooperative students in the classroom rather than having one or two students disrupting the class,” she said. Dlamini then advised the Deputy Prime Minister to find ways to follow up with OVCs so that they can be managed in schools. She said one way could be to have social workers visit schools at least twice a week to deal with such problems whenever needed. “Children’s courts could be another solution to deal with wayward students who create chaos in schools,” she said. Dlamini also decried the selection criteria for beneficiaries of the OVC Grant. She said some deserving children missed out on the grant because they did not participate in traditional activities such as the kuhlehla at the Royal Clares. The headmaster said some meritorious students were deprived of the grant on the basis of paying a certain fee to their respective Royal Clares.

“Hopefully the deputy prime minister’s office will find a way to ensure transparency in the selection process for orphans and vulnerable children in the community. Some benefit from grants while their parents have jobs.”

Reiterate

Echoing Dlamini’s sentiments, Sheula Senior High School principal Bonginkhosi Mabila reiterated that orphans and vulnerable children were not being cared for at the family level. Mabila said orphans and vulnerable children were creating many problems in schools for this very reason and he said it could help if schools had social workers to monitor them. Mabira said it was unfair for the principal to use violence against orphans and vulnerable children who misbehaved in the school. He condemned the selection criteria, pointing out that some students were competing with poor students whose parents had incomes. Some principals mentioned civil servants because their colleagues had raised concerns.

Responding to the principals’ concerns, the deputy prime minister acknowledged that some pupils’ poor performance at school was causing problems and blamed it on insufficient parental supervision at home. She said some parents were too busy to look after their children, and she said a lack of parental supervision left children succumbing to peer pressure.
“Some children are bossy in school because they lack parental love at home level. Their attitudes bring negative attention to teachers, leading to them being seen as willful,” she said. Dela Dela said visits by social workers to schools play a vital role in regulating students. She said her office also does its best to send social workers when needed, despite being short-staffed.

Profession

Dela Dela said another solution could be to strengthen career guidance for people who love children so they can mentor children. The deputy prime minister did not respond to the suggestion of setting up a children’s court for wayward students. Speaking about the selection criteria for orphans and vulnerable children in the country, Dela Dela said there is still a lot of room for improvement. She said her office and its stakeholders are working on a policy to ensure transparency in the selection of beneficiaries of the grant. She said the new policy will involve principals and independent members of the community to ensure that deserving children are not excluded from the grant. Dela Dela said excluding deserving students from the OVC grant is a sin and those responsible will go to hell. She urged the principals to join hands in building the future for their children and the country.