HARARE stationed Private Catholic girls high school, Dominican Convent has expelled eight students for partaking in illicit drugs and substances at a recent trip in Nyanga.
By Staff Reporter
In a letter written to parents by the Head of Upper School at Domincan Convent, Sr Kudzai Mutsure, she said they had exhausted all disciplinary channels and expulsion was in the best interest of both the school and the affected pupils.
I write on a sad note to notify you that the 8 girls we had put on suspension pending investigations on an incident that took place at the 2023 U6 leadership camp which was held in Nyanga from the 12th to the 15th of January, have been excluded from the school with immediate effect. The disciplinary committee exercised all principles of procedural fairness and found the girls guilty of violating the school drug bacy,” she said.
“My heart aches for these girls and their parents but my duty of care is to ensure that the school environment is, as far as is practicable, safe and free from all risks. I have a responsibility to the whole school community and possessing, using or supplying a restricted substance including vaping is not acceptable. Investigations are still ongoing and we will not hesitate to weed out a, more culprits to sanitise the school space.”
According to Zimbabwe’s Final Situation Assessment report on Drug Use, there has been an increase in drug and substance use in women and girls in Zimbabwe. According to the report, the total sample of men who use drugs constitutes majority of drug users at 58.47 percent while women are at 40.59 percent.
“I pray that the girls will receive the rehabilitation they need and that ALL parents take an active role, in partnership with the school, to modify the inappropriate behaviour of their children. I believe that school officials’ efforts to protect students from the dangers of substance abuse are sometimes hampered by parents and community members in denial about the pervasiveness of the problem and the potential for any child to succumb to the lures of drugs.
“I appeal to parents to be more vigilant and active by refining their parenting skills and being aware of their children’s activities as our investigations show that the pervasive behaviour started at home.”
