Schools should seek guidance from recognised religious institutes

I am writing in response to the picture of the day in the Daily Monitor of January 7. The photo titled “Breaking the Spell” evokes concern from any parent or adult who seeks to see that our children are safe and protected in school.

What is worrying is the lack of understanding among parents, teachers and the community of the pressures of passing examinations for children. These pressures cause symptoms of anxiety and depression and if not well managed can lead to the scene in the photo.

What we see in the photo is a case in which young children are undergoing a form of abuse (not being effectively protected by those in authority) that needs to be investigated by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development.

They need guidance from formal and recognised religious institutions and the mental health section of the Ministry of Health to determine whether the school is dealing with a spiritual or a psychosocial problem, determine its cause and find an effective solution.

We should not be seeing a teacher as a “Lone Ranger” doing what the man in the photo was doing.
Tina Ntulo,
tina.ntulo@basicneeds.org