PUPILS WORK IN DAGGA FIELDS, SLEEP IN CLASS

PIGG’S PEAK – A half empty class of pupils, with those present exhibiting signs of being fatigued and sleepy, is what teachers are confronted with on a daily basis.

All this is as a result of a high paying job of trimming and harvesting dagga, wich makes it difficult for some pupils to concentrate in class or attend school.
The pupils are forced to work overnight in dagga fields and then report for school in the morning, something which has resulted in most of them either literally sleeping while classes are ongoing or failing to attend school at all.

Dagga harvesting is ongoing around northern Hhohho but it has come with the high price of making pupils choose between attending class or earning as much as E70 per day or more, depending on the work done.

Working in dagga fields is so lucrative that some pupils have been known to vanish from school, never to return while working for drug lords.
This publication investigated at least four schools in which this is said to be happening. Some of the head teachers were also interviewed in the schools regarding the dagga harvesting by pupils.

As early as 9am, teachers are confronted with pupils taking  a nap.
Girls and boys are hired for the purpose of trimming the dagga during harvest time. This work also involves preparing the dagga in readiness to dry it before it is sealed then smuggled out of the country.
The dagga grown in Swaziland is referred to as the Swazi Gold and finds its way to countries as far as India, the USA and even Europe. Overseas, Swazi Gold can fetch as much as 200 times more than what Swazis sell it for.

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