TEACHERS RESPONSIBLE FOR SHAPING YOUNG MINDS

Sir,
Please allow me to voice out my deepest concerns about our future of pupils, about  the way they are treated by their teachers. Teachers are the cornerstone of our society, because they are responsible for shaping young minds at school. Ngumsebenti wabo. But as much as teachers have been responsible for the academic upbringing of many souls, there are those who continue to destroy promising futures through their hurtful words and conduct. There are teachers in our schools in Eswatini, who find it easy to use the pupils’ family backgrounds to get to them and abuse them.

If you are from a disadvantaged background and you make a mistake or fail a test, the teacher will see this as an opportunity to tell you how you will continue to live and die in poverty. Instead of encouraging you they belittle you. This has made many pupils hate their teachers and their attitude towards their school work changes negatively. The pupils then go on to fail at the end of the year and some end up dropping out of school from the humiliation they endure at the hands of their teachers. Even worse is that in some instances, the head teachers are unaware of this because they don’t have enough time to visit and inspect every class and a lot of these incidents are not reported.

Advantage

Another thing that continues to be a thorn in their flesh is the issue of teacher taking advantage of young and impressionable female pupils, leading to them being taken advantage of sexually. And because they are from poor backgrounds there is often an imbalance of power. The abuse of power in schools needs to be reported and taken seriously by authorities. May all teachers conduct themselves responsibly in our schools here in Eswatini. Where is the love and patience?

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