ZCTU condemns teachers ill-treating pupils 

Tue, 14 Mar 2017 11:04:53 +0000

By CHIKUMBI KATEBE

ZAMBIA Union of Teachers (ZNUT) has condemned school administrations that have allowed teachers to introduce dehumanizing practices in classrooms such as asking pupils to remove their shoes.

ZNUT general secretary Newman Bubaala said it was unacceptable for teachers to ask pupils to take off their shoes in the classroom as it exposed pupils to colds and other communicable infections.

He said it was uncalled for that, teachers should force young learners to take off their shoes during lessons for the sake of keeping the classrooms clean.

“It is unacceptable that some teachers in some schools should be forcing pupils to take off shoes to keep the classrooms clean but we do not have the details, except that we would not support such conduct because it puts the children at risk of disease,

“But do these same teachers take off their shoes when entering the same classrooms? No! So why should they make learners take off shoes?” he questioned.

He was commenting on reports that some teachers at Woodlands B basic school and other schools across the city were asking pupils to take off their shoes to avoid bring into classrooms dirt from the muddy surrounding  especially in the rainy season.

Mr Bubala said while cleanliness was crucial, it was imperative that teachers found better methods of keeping the classrooms clean such as periodic cleaning to maintain tidy surroundings instead of such unhealthy practices.

He challenged school administrations to monitor teacher practices in the classrooms to protect pupils from unhealthy practices that would expose them to diseases.