No satanism in schools: Ministry

Sunday News

By Lulu Brenda Harris

16 March 2013

THE Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture has declared that all its schools are safe maintaining the “satanism” reports are centred on people’s beliefs, which should be separated from the functions of the learning institutions.

The ministry contended teachers in the schools were tasked with teaching and did not meddle or influence what their pupils believed in, as that was the parents’ responsibility, noting people had different beliefs and values.

Individual beliefs and values, which families possess and believe in should not be imposed on other children, the education ministry added.

These past weeks, numerous reports emanated from schools across the country such as Bulawayo, Matabeleland North, Mashonaland East and Harare, where schoolchildren are said to have fainted mysteriously, broken into fits of hysteria while one schoolgirl woke up with her throat slashed, others grew fur and developed “vampire” teeth.

Upon hearing this, the education ministry opened an urgent inquest led by its permanent secretary to investigate what was happening across the country’s schools.

In an interview with Sunday News, Deputy Minister of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture, Cde Lazarus Dokora, said allegations of cults and satanism taking place in schools were centred on what people believed in emphasising there was no basis to say the schools propelled these acts, as these were learning institutions mandated to educate children only.

He said schools were manned by professionals who were suitably trained, sought after by other countries adding they were hired to teach and educate children, nothing else, nothing more.

“These are matters of belief, faith and values, teachers do not foster beliefs in children. Teachers only teach the curriculum to the children and matters of beliefs are solely the parents’ responsibility.”

The deputy minister referred to the school girl at Entumbane High School who fainted causing other girls to faint when they tried to resuscitate her.

He said: “It’s reported mysterious things started happening to the girl after taking extra lessons from her church. You see she went to her church not to school, the school had nothing to do with that. It’s all about belief systems families have, not the schools and school authorities can’t interfere with that.”

Cde Dokora said even the Nhowa mission teacher who is alleged to have given arm wrists to the two school children who then grew fur and developed vampire teeth was released by the police, as they established otherwise.

“The way parents create frenzy is to propel the nation into a misguided one. Teachers in schools perform their duties as spelled out to them and as legally mandated to. They should not venture into other acts while in schools. We hire professionals, if by any chance they are, they should do it outside school because they are hired to teach children education,” he said.

Last week, Senator David Coltart, sternly warned whoever was doing these unwarranted acts in the schools would be dealt with and disciplined.

The deputy minister said satanism aside, looking at the fainting and hysteria there could be all kinds of reasons why these were happening.

He said in any large groups who live together, fainting was bound to happen and activities like sport were one possible reason or those that disrupted one’s normal routine. “Once many people congregate at one place people faint, it’s one phenomenon common at boarding schools, were pupils faint, or hallucinate, even journalists faint in the newsrooms. Something would have happened to trigger that kind of response. This is out of the ordinary, this had nothing to do with occults. The message is let children remain in schools. Schools are suitable institutions. I don’t even know what Satanism is,” he said.