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Parents call for schools to revamp bullying regulations

by Bustop TV News

Parents of learners in local schools say school authorities should step up efforts in raising bullying awareness as the country records rising cases of bullying.

 

Recently, a 17-year-old boy died after being stabbed on the throat with a piece of glass by a colleague.

 

A learner in Bulawayo recently committed suicide after complaining about bullying at his school.

 

Talking to BustopTV, a worried parent said school authorities should take bullying seriously as it psychologically affects learners and their performance.

 

“Bullying has an impact on how the victim performs in school. If one doesn’t have psychological resilience, they could end up taking their own life.

 

“Cases of bullying are rising and we are losing brilliant learners because of that and I encourage all school authorities to raise awareness on bullying to avoid the continuity of such worrisome cases,” she said.

 

Talking to this publication, another concerned parent said the government and schools should come together and implement strict policies to deal with bullying and drug abuse in schools.

 

In an interview with BustopTV, Children’s Republic Association Zimbabwe (CRAZ) director Cynthia Chiedza Nyanyiwa said bullying in schools should be taken seriously as it damages the mental health of children.

 

“Authorities in schools should put in place strict policies to punish those responsible for bullying and also to support the victims.

 

“In this age of social media, once something is put online it’s hard for the victim to forget the incident. There’s constant trauma because of that. Children’s mental health should be a priority both in schools and at home and it is unfortunate that bullying often leads to suicide,” she said.

 

In another interview, Reverend Taylor Nyanhete said: “As a child rights sector, we are currently discussing ways on how best to raise awareness on bullying in schools and its effects on learners, including even the perpetrator.

 

“Recently I had an opportunity to be invited to a high level meeting with the ministry of education, to craft regulations as a result of the education amendment act of 2020. Within those regulations, there is a specific section about bullying.

 

“Sometime this year those regulations will be gazetted and they will help heads of schools manage bullying”, he said.

 

He added that parents need to be part of the solution as well because children are coming from families and there are circumstances in families that contribute to bullying.

 

Meanwhile, in his remarks at the inaugural ED Mnangagwa Business Summit in Harare three weeks ago, the President said bullying has no place in the country and all the perpetrators should be dealt with accordingly.

 

“We have several cases of bullying now in schools, both in boarding schools and day schools. As parents, we want you to educate and counsel our children to respect each other.

 

“We have cases where children have lost lives because of bullying. We also have a second challenge of drug abuse, I have given instruction to police kuti mukawana mwana akastika kandai mu police, paanopetenuka moti wakastika nei (lock up youths who are high and after they are sober quiz them)” he said.

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