Let's fight students' drug abuse

Mmegi Editor | Monday April 3, 2023 06:00

In this edition, we carry stories on the two subject matters which are related in a way as they affect our children. The story on the use of drugs reflects how the matter has spiraled out of control thereby becoming a concern for the police.

The story says there have been concerns about the increase in students' drug use and the escalating trends of learners consuming space cakes being,cookies and muffins containing marijuana.

This paints a gloomy picture for a country as small as Botswana. It is a serious issue that needs every member of the society to nip it in the bud. In this regard,it is a battle that needs all hands on deck or else the nation will lose tomorrow’s leaders.

There is urgent need to find solutions to this problem. But firstly, we need to find the root cause. One of the things that we have observed is that today’s learners have rights which sometimes make it difficult for teachers to control and have authority over students. Let’s admit it, there is lawlessness in our schools due in part to how today’s students are treated. They do as they please knowing very well that nothing would be done to them. Could there be a link between the use of the stick to bring order in schools and the lawlessness in schools?

The adage, spare the rod, spoil the child clearly explains the link between the use of corporal punishment as a form of corrective measure and indiscipline. This is a cliché commonly used to support the practice of physical discipline towards children. For years, the debate on whether to use corporal punishment as of form of a corrective measure or not has been a thorny one. It has escalated after a recent case in which teachers were taken to court for using corporal punishment on students. Teachers have through the Botswana Teachers Union (BTU) called for a halt of corporal punishment in schools.

While we do not entirely support the view that corporal punishment should be used as a punitive measure, we think by sparing the students you are actually doing more harm than good. Therefore, corporal punishment should be used as a corrective measure.

Corporal punishment can be an appropriate discipline for certain children when used in moderation. However, it must be administered under clear boundaries with the sole goal of ensuring conformity and building acceptable characters within our children.

As such, the use of drugs is an outcome of the rampant indiscipline, within and outside the school system, and presents a social challenge that needs the involvement of all stakeholders if this challenging battle is to be won.

Today’s thought

“It’s better to hold a book between your fingers than to hold a cigarette.”― Bista Nirooj