Sexual immorality among students worries Scripture Union of Malawi: To revive Bible Clubs

Concerned with the rise in numbers of girls falling pregnant or getting married at tender ages, the Scripture Union of Malawi (SU) has embarked on an initiative aimed to revive Bible Clubs in public schools to tackle sexual immorality among students.

SU national director Amon Chanika, speaking on Saturday on the side-lines of a day-long training for Primary Education Advisors (PEAs) and head teachers in Mkukula Zone in Dowa, observed that sexual immorality is a a major contributing factor of early pregnancies and child marriages among learners in primary and secondary school.

He said majority of the students are engaging in premarital sexual acts due to the lack of the knowledge of the word of God.

Chanika therefore said SU, with financial support from churches such as the Kaning’a CCAP Church in Area 47 and Capital City Baptist Church both in Lilongwe, has decided to revive Bible Clubs to enable the students get to know the word of God, which abhors sexual immorality.

“We have heard about girls getting pregnant during Covid-19 [holiday]. So, we felt like since man is made up of three parts, thus, body soul and spirit, we, as a Christian organization, want to present to them the word of God so that we can see transformation in their lives,” Chanika said.

Meanwhile, the Union has already trained Primary Education Advisors (PEAs) and head teachers (PEAs) from selected education zones in Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu.

He said the trainings will equip school authorities with skills and knowledge in the establishment and maintenance of Bible Clubs to ensure that they are in line with the regulations of the Ministry of Education.

“School personnel, including teachers, may not initiate, sponsor, promote, lead or participate in religious club meetings. However, school personnel may be required to monitor club meetings,” explained Chanika.

Gladys Kamanga-Gwedezani – a primary school teacher at Funsani Full Primary School at Lumbadzi in Dowa – welcomed the development, saying it will reduce misbehaviour among the learners in school.

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