- Police seek intervention of Kgosikgolo Tawana Moremi
- Parents, vendors accused of peddling drugs in schools
- ‘Some vendors sell snacks laced with drugs to get learners hooked’
- ‘Some parents give children drugs to sell in schools’
- Cases also found in primary schools
The widespread illicit use of drugs and habit forming substances by learners in Maun schools is reported to be worrisome, as some parents are said to be behind the proliferation of these in institutions of learning.
The situation is said to be made worse by some vendors who sell by the school gate, who also peddle drugs by selling laced niceties to learners to get them hooked.
While the prevalence is more pronounced in Secondary schools, some cases are now reported at primary schools, where a deliberate strategy is used to cultivate the market. The drugs that top the list and commonly found in these schools include dagga and Methcathinone which is popularly known as CAT.
The Police have since appealed for Batawana Paramount Chief Tawana Moremi II’s intervention in addressing the social ill.
According to Sub Inspector Segopolo Lefatshe of the Gender and Child Protection Unit under the Maun Police Station, secondary schools in Maun are increasingly registering more cases of illicit drugs and substance use by students. Lefatshe revealed this during the launch of the month of Prayer Against HIV/AIDS, non-communicable diseases (NCDs), GBV and road traffic crashes held in Maun over the weekend.
In a shocking revelation, Lefatshe said from January to June this year, the police recorded 23 cases where students in schools were found in possession of dagga, meth, cocaine and alcohol. These are only reported cases, and clearly many more go unreported as they are not intercepted or caught.
“This is worrisome as the indulgence in drugs by students’ affects teaching and learning and ultimately compromises students’ academic performance,” he expressed.
Lefatshe appealed to Kgosi Tawana to assist in engaging parents at the community level to closely monitor children’s movement and suspicious behavior for immediate intervention in arresting the situation at an early stage. He further urged religious grouping to also pray against such social illnesses.
Meanwhile North West Umbrella Parents Teachers Association (PTA) Chairperson Lucky Letsapa has also indicated that they are aware of the situation, revealing that the drugs commonly found in these schools include dagga and Cat. In an interview Letsapa indicated that the cases are found in all school levels- being primary, junior and senior schools.
He revealed that so far they have registered seven cases across the district out of which one was recorded in a primary school. In the case, a standard 4 learner was caught with a sachet of dagga and when confronted, the student confessed that he got the drugs from his parent to sell it to other learners.
Letsapa indicated that the number of these cases could even be more as some are not reported to them as teachers opt to deal with them internally.
He raised concern that there are some parents or vendors trading outside schools who sell these drugs to the students. He revealed that they also sell chips commonly known as (Mosunyetso) to the students which are laced with these substances.
He noted that when the parents are engaged in an effort to address the issue they deny ever giving their children drugs. Besides engaging with the parents, the chairperson said they also hold briefings with students to try motivate and encourage them to focus on their academics warning them that drugs will only destroy their future.
