Norwegians, govt in race to stop rising suicides at schools

The Ministry of Education and the Norwegian government are mooting a programme intended to minimise stress and prevent suicide among school-going children.

The move followed rampant suicide cases being reported among learners.

The Capacity Development Advisor at Norwegian Refugee Council, Mr Cristian De Luca, on Tuesday said the programme dubbed “Better Learning Programme” , has been used to fight trauma that triggers suicide among learners in other countries.

Mr De Luca said cases of stress are common among students from areas experiencing emergencies such as wars and the pandemic, citing an example of Covid-19 that made some students miss school for two years.

“Children affected by stress from conflict and crisis situations often have difficulties learning and functioning at school and they experience a sense of chaos, loss of concentration and reduced memory, making it hard to keep up in the classroom or do their homework,” he said.

Mr De Luca said teachers and parents should support children to stabilise so that they can learn and thrive.

Whereas the Norwegian Refugee Council notified the Education ministry that it intends to roll out the programme in refugee camps, the ministry wants this introduced in all schools across the country.

According to the Education ministry’s Commissioner for Special Needs Education, Ms Sarah Bugoosi, children encountered stressful incidents, including Covid-19 and Ebola that could be among the triggers of suicide.

“Children committing suicide are not in refugee camps. We have not received any cases from there. Concentration should be put to other schools where the cases are rampant. We are seeing our students commit suicide over small reasons,” Ms Bugoosi said.

In an interview with Daily Monitor yesterday, Mr Robert Anywar, the Norwegian Refugee Council education specialist, said whereas the programme is supposed to be implemented by teachers, parents should also be involved in the well-being of their children

some suicide cases in schools

A number of children in primary and secondary schools have committed suicide over relationships, poor performance and misusing school fees.

More than six cases of suicide have since been reported in various schools in November, triggering concern.

For instance on November 2, a Senior Six student of Bukoyo Secondary School in Iganga District committed suicide by hanging, after allegedly betting part of his school fees. The body of Denis Tukei was found hanging in a dormitory by students, who were returning from lunch.

Another Senior One student of Kyotera Town Academy SS in Kyotera District committed suicide after allegedly impregnating a 15-year-old girl.

In June, a 17-year-old student of Wanyange Girls’ Secondary School in Kakira Town Council reportedly committed suicide by hanging.