NICE caution teachers over sexual abuse on schoolgirls

 National Initiative for Civic Education (NICE) Public Trust has expressed concern over increased incidents of teachers impregnating female students in Chiradzulu district.

During an interface meeting involving Area Development Committee (ADC) members and chiefs held on Wednesday at Senior Chief Chitera’s headquarters the Trust’s District Civic Education Officer, Boniface Phiri described the tendency as counter-productive.

Nice Trust in partnership with the Office of the Ombudsman (OoO) is conducting a series of meetings in the district aimed at soliciting complaints from ordinary citizens on how they are being served by civil servants.

“It is worrying to note that those entrusted to mould bright future of these young girls are the very people busy betraying our trust,” he said.

Phiri called on prosecuting authorities to give out stiff penalties to perpetrators of the tendency.

“We keep receiving such types of complaints and they crop up every time we conduct community rallies. It is an unwelcome development that should attract severe legal slaps. It is also quite disappointing to learn that some teachers are coming in defense of their colleagues when quizzed on the same as was the case at one school in the area of Senior Chief Chitera,” he explained.

Spokesperson for Office of Ombudsman, Arthur Semba disclosed that in Chiradzulu unrelenting perpetrators of this tendency are mostly trainee teachers and those who have overstayed in their duty schools.

“We will be taking up issues that are coming up with respective Primary Education Advisors (PEAs) and the District Education Manager (DEM) and legal processes should follow after our investigations. Our objective is to ensure that public servants serve people diligently,” he assured.

Semba stated that his office was conducting civic education meetings in all regions to sensitize people on its roles.

“We have partnered NICE Trust in a civic education drive because the Trust is well established in almost every corner of the country. From now people can channel their complaints to us through NICE offices across the country; if anyone feels that they have not been well served by any government ministry, agency or department, they should bring their complaints to us and we shall investigate those issues through powers invested in us through the constitution and the Ombudsman Act,” the spokesperson said

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