By PASSY HAACHIZO –
MALE teachers have been warned not to fall prey to the machinations of naughty female pupils who may be looking for favours as the school calendar enters the examination season.
The Zambia National Union of Teachers (ZNUT) said yesterday the exam period was a particularly challenging one for young male teachers who may find themselves targeted by wayward female students looking for a little push to pass their examinations, especially at grade 12 level.
ZNUT Central Province secretary Emerson Pukuma said in an interview with the Times of Zambia that teachers, especially those at boarding schools, should wary of being lured into unprofessional conduct by suggestively dressed pupils.
“Some of the dressing by the pupils is not good. I have been a teacher for years and what I have seen is not good, especially among our pupils in boarding schools. Their dressing is as if they are at a nightclub, especially this time, as we approach exam time. It is difficult, at times, for our young teachers to resist the temptation,” he said.
Mr Pukuma said pupils had also taken to sending suggestive texts to teachers.
He said while the challenges faced by teachers were real, those who yielded to the temptation to engage in illicit relations with pupils were stepping on the slippery slope to ejection from the teaching service.
“The union will not defend any teacher found engaging in illicit relations with pupils or examination malpractices,” he said.
He said the only relationship expected between a teacher and a pupil was supposed to end in the classroom and teachers who leaked exam papers to pupils in exchange for sexual favours were exposing their own incompetence and compromising the integrity of the teaching profession.
Mr Pukuma said it was important for parents to support the work of teachers by ensuring that their
children conducted themselves properly.
“Teachers should not always be blamed when these things happen, but we need to look at the root cause of this problem and tackle it together with the parents. My appeal is to our parents; let us guide and discipline our children,” he said.
Mr Pukuma also appealed to the Teaching Council of Zambia (TCZ) to ensure the profession was regulated thoroughly to get rid of individuals that brought its name into disrepute.
“I think it is high time the teaching profession also became like other professional bodies such as the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ) in maintaining their integrity,” he said.