Martin Muleya
The African Identity Advocates group, in collaboration with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education (Mutare district), held a three day workshop to train guidance and counseling from an African perspective.
The training workshop’s primary focus was to promote total abstinence among teenagers and good behavior.
In an interview with The Midweek Watch on the sidelines of the workshop held at a local school, African Identity Advocates Founding Director and Coordinator Linnet Mudehwe highlighted the pressing issue of bullying in school attributing its prevalence to a lack of guidance on good behavior. She emphasized that addressing sexual health and bullying required a shift in approach, viewing them as personal development issues rather than solely religious or moral ones.
“We have seen in our education curriculum that most of the time the principles that we have been using are not coming from Ubuntu. As a people we have our ways that we used to have to nurture our people as they were growing up. We are training guidance and counseling teachers on how to do guidance and counseling from an African perspective,” she said.
Mudehwe stressed the importance of empowering children with skills and knowledge necessary to make informed decisions about their life. By focusing on personal development and transformation, she believes learners can develop the resilience and confidence needed to navigate challenges.
“We are for total abstinence when it comes to sexual issues on children. Abstinence is not confined to girls but boys as well. When a child embarks on bullying behavior it is an indication that the child lacks Ubuntu. We are one people and ought to respect each other. These issues of bullying, drug and substance abuse among teenagers should not be confined to religious issues but have everything to do with personal development, transformation and wealth development,” Mudehwe added.
She called on education authorities to consider elevating guidance and counseling to a dedicated subject, staffed by trained professionals. This she argued, would provide learners with the support and guidance they need to thrive.
Speaking at the same occasion Mutare District Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education official Isaac Kusena expressed deep concern over the alarming rise in bullying cases within schools, attributing the trend to factors such as drug and substance abuse among students. He emphasized the critical role that guidance and counseling could play in addressing these issues.
“We are very much worried about the rampant increase of cases of bullying in our schools. We feel maybe this is exacerbated by drug and substance abuse so there is need for us as educationists to put heads together with parents so that we help our children. We need some serious interventions both as teachers and parents so that we mitigate the effects of drug and substance abuse which I believe is the major cause of the increase of bullying in schools. We are doing advocacy, workshops, engagements with guidance and counseling teachers so that they can provide guidance and counseling as a service and subject. Guidance and counseling should be offered as a service and subject because it is very critical. It brings us close to our cultural beliefs and behavior that will bring out Ubuntu to our leaners,” said Kusena.
By offering guidance and counseling both as a service and a subject, schools can better connect with cultural norms and values, providing students with the support and direction they need to navigate these challenges. This approach aims to foster a more holistic understanding of student well-being and promoting positive behavior.
