Patricia Maganu
30 November 2009
Francistown — Education and Skills Development Minister Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi has condemned teacher-student love affairs, saying the issue is one of her ministry's major concerns that she is determined to tackle.
She said that she would not take such cases lightly.
Venson-Moitoi was speaking at a familiarisation meeting with school heads for the north held in Francistown on Friday. Assistant minister Keletso Rakhudu and departmental directors accompanied her.
"It is a serious concern that teachers still impregnate school children. It is totally unacceptable," declared Venson-Moitoi, who was recently moved to Education from the old Ministry of Communications, Science and Technology in a Cabinet reshuffle by President Ian Khama.
The minister said that teachers needed to understand their profession's ethics.
"By doing that you are exploiting the rights of people who are put in your charge just like a doctor or a priest. Your relationship with that student is about learning only," she said.
She stressed that this is one particular issue that she would not take lightly because teachers are supposed to be parents to the children in schools.
"Imagine your own child at 15 pregnant just because a teacher, who is supposed to protect her, could not resist the temptation," Venson-Moitoi said.
She said that though she would not rule out the possibility, she had never heard of a case of a boy who had impregnated a female teacher.
She further told the school heads that if a teacher could find school children sexually appealing to him then they did not belong in this profession.
The minister further urged teachers to bring back respect to the teaching profession.
"We are going to bring back respect to the profession. Teachers used to be revered and feared but things have changed because we have no respect for the profession," she added.
Venson-Moitoi said that she had come to introduce herself and her team to the school heads and also lay out a road map for the next five years.
Among the things she talked about was the dress code for teachers, which she said, should be respectful and distinct from students' or just anyone.
"We are not saying that you should spend a whole lot of money but just a basic long sleeve shirt and tie. Women remember that you are a parent and dress the way you would around those you love and respect," she urged.
She also talked about corporal punishment saying that her ministry is going to take action against teachers who assault school children in the name of discipline.
The minister urged school heads to respect time when helping clients, unruly and provocative students and teachers' welfare. Though she said that her visit was a courtesy visit it was clear that teachers had burning issues, which she and her assistant said would all be addressed through workshops and other interactions.
Rakhudu said that teachers who engaged in sexual relationships with students would be duly dealt with because by so doing they would be "committing professional incest".
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 Mmegi/The Reporter. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
