AfricaPress-Tanzania: YESTERDAY one of newspapers-Habarileo, published an article, where Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB) in Mbeya region cornered a Nyeregete Primary School headteacher for allegedly demanding sex from a girl-pupil aged 14 in order to assist her in examinations.
Imagining the whole scenario as a parent or guardian of such a child entrusted in the hands of a man, who by profession is a teacher (read another parent in school) and mandated to groom the girl only to abuse her. Surely, something is missing in the society.
Teacher-pupil relations is a wide term, and studies of this relationship cover such topics as the influence of teachers on the immediate behaviour of their pupils and on their intellectual and social development, the contribution which teachers make to the mental health and adjustment of the children.
Dug still there is also what is called a platonic love- that is love between a man and woman without necessarily resorting to mating and it is healthy in common pursuit of a goal-education in a school, but because of human weakness, teacher-pupil relation should entire be based on the academic relation.
None of the above endorses any sexual activity between male and female pupils, let alone the unimagined teacher and pupil, because in such circumstance, especially in law having sex with a minor tantamount to rape.
Successful teachers are those that have the ability to maximise the learning potential of all students in their class and stretch a bit a positive teacher-student relationships to promote a sense of school belonging and encourage students to participate cooperatively, and that is what the government and taxpayers want in the schools.
Looked at keenly, a teacher should provide quality education. Of course, most people would say that a teacher’s first responsibility is to teach well (not seduce his/her pupil) and equally a teacher should respect his/her pupil and above all observe boundaries.
The list may be long, but a teacher going far to extent that he demands sex from a pupil in order to assist her pass an examination is not only misleading the pupil, but also cheats himself-because in the profession exams examine a pupil’s awareness in a subject and must be worked for not rewarded in barter trade for sex in return.
This shows that war against sexual oppression and other forms of abuse against the girl-child still persist in the community and to make it worse in places, where nobody would expect it to hide.
