School suspends pupils for drinking

ABOUT 40 pupils have been suspended from the Primary School Rooi Duin at Aranos in the Hardap Region for alcohol abuse and visiting nightclubs and shebeens.

Headmaster Samanga Steenkamp confirmed the suspension yesterday. He said the pupils, most of them in grades eight to 10, were sent home last Tuesday.Parents and school board members have expressed disquiet about what is the biggest mass suspension in the school’s history.Many of the parents feel the timing of the suspension – just before the year-end exams – is inappropriate and will aggravate the school’s poor academic results.A school board member, who preferred anonymity, claimed that the board had not been consulted before the pupils were suspended.”The headmaster has taken drastic measures against the learners without consulting the school board, but wants us to convene on Thursday to discuss the suspension.It’s totally senseless,” the school board member told The Namibian.Steenkamp said he had acted within the powers granted him by the Education Act and did not need the school board’s blessing for such a measure.”We have called in the parents on several occasions and they agreed that drastic action was needed because the situation was getting completely uncontrollable,” he told The Namibian.According to Steenkamp, pupils were warned at the end of the last term to refrain from unbecoming behaviour on and off the school grounds.”Repeated calls to learners to behave well on and off school premises fell on deaf ears and as school manager I had no option but to call the learners to order,” he said.According to Steenkamp, he first gauged his staff’s opinion before taking the drastic step.He said he had not initially intended to suspend the pupils because of the looming exams but that the majority of teachers recommended the drastic measures.”I personally brought up the issue of the final exams, which are around the corner, but the majority of teachers felt the learners’ behaviour warranted a suspension,” he said.But some of the teachers The Namibian spoke to were not in favour of the mass suspension.Steenkamp said the school board and management would meet in the presence of the Police on Thursday afternoon to decide on further disciplinary action against the pupils.”We already have poor results and hope that the situation will call the learners to order.It is entrusted upon us to ensure that the school is on the right path of academic performance and that can only be achieved once we have rooted out the enemy of education,” Steenkamp said.He said many pupils had spent hours drunk in shebeens before the school closed at the end of last term.”The learners are not willing to adhere to the norms and values that we are trying to instil.It’s a serious problem here because some learners completely overpower their parents and expect us to sit back.We have got even primary school kids going to shebeens,” Steenkamp said.He said pupil’s alcohol abuse and visiting of shebeens, as well as their and their parents’ lack of interest in education, had contributed to the school’s poor academic results.”I feel I have a responsibility to the whole community, therefore I have taken this stand to bring necessary changes,” he said.He said the Regional Education Office in Mariental was fully briefed on the action and understood the need for the move.He said the pupils, most of them in grades eight to 10, were sent home last Tuesday.Parents and school board members have expressed disquiet about what is the biggest mass suspension in the school’s history.Many of the parents feel the timing of the suspension – just before the year-end exams – is inappropriate and will aggravate the school’s poor academic results.A school board member, who preferred anonymity, claimed that the board had not been consulted before the pupils were suspended.”The headmaster has taken drastic measures against the learners without consulting the school board, but wants us to convene on Thursday to discuss the suspension.It’s totally senseless,” the school board member told The Namibian.Steenkamp said he had acted within the powers granted him by the Education Act and did not need the school board’s blessing for such a measure. “We have called in the parents on several occasions and they agreed that drastic action was needed because the situation was getting completely uncontrollable,” he told The Namibian.According to Steenkamp, pupils were warned at the end of the last term to refrain from unbecoming behaviour on and off the school grounds.”Repeated calls to learners to behave well on and off school premises fell on deaf ears and as school manager I had no option but to call the learners to order,” he said.According to Steenkamp, he first gauged his staff’s opinion before taking the drastic step.He said he had not initially intended to suspend the pupils because of the looming exams but that the majority of teachers recommended the drastic measures.”I personally brought up the issue of the final exams, which are around the corner, but the majority of teachers felt the learners’ behaviour warranted a suspension,” he said.But some of the teachers The Namibian spoke to were not in favour of the mass suspension.Steenkamp said the school board and management would meet in the presence of the Police on Thursday afternoon to decide on further disciplinary action against the pupils.”We already have poor results and hope that the situation will call the learners to order.It is entrusted upon us to ensure that the school is on the right path of academic performance and that can only be achieved once we have rooted out the enemy of education,” Steenkamp said.He said many pupils had spent hours drunk in shebeens before the school closed at the end of last term.”The learners are not willing to adhere to the norms and values that we are trying to instil.It’s a serious problem here because some learners completely overpower their parents and expect us to sit back.We have got even primary school kids going to shebeens,” Steenkamp said.He said pupil’s alcohol abuse and visiting of shebeens, as well as their and their parents’ lack of interest in education, had contributed to the school’s poor academic results.”I feel I have a responsibility to the whole community, therefore I have taken this stand to bring necessary changes,” he said.He said the Regional Education Office in Mariental was fully briefed on the action and understood the need for the move.