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Sukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
Bigboy Mkhwebu’s educational journey ended at the age of seven.

When he completed his Grade 2 studies, his father reached a decision that the cost of his son’s education was beyond his reach.

Because of the insignificant level of education that Mkhwebu, now 23, of Bulilima District has, he has been performing one piece job after the other and is of no fixed abode.

To him the future is blurred, he has no aspirations or career objectives. His condition has made him feel like a burden to his family.

“My father, I believe that somehow he could afford to send me to school but he chose not to. I really don’t know why he did this because he could afford to clothe us and feed us but I didn’t attend school.

“I’ve been struggling to get a decent job because I’m not educated therefore I’ve been moving from one piece job to another,” said Mkhwebu.

He is currently serving four months at the Plumtree Prison after stealing his uncle’s goat and slaughtering it in a bid to get an income.

In Mangwe District, 15-year-old Nothando Tshuma* was lucky to surpass Mkhwebu’s level of education as she attended school up to Grade 7.

However, she went as far as the first term of her final primary level. At the age of 15, the girl has not attained a single academic certificate but her educational journey has come to a halt.

The girl’s mother said she could not afford to finance her daughter’s education and decided to pull her out of school.

“I’m widow and I’m not working. Nothando is not the only child that I have as she has two other siblings and they all look up to me for their upkeep. I was trying by all means to pay for her education using money that I earned from selling vegetables.

“However, the challenges had just worsened for me and I decided that she had to quit school. With the little education that she has attained, I know that she can get employment to work at the kitchen in the neighbouring country,” said the mother.

She recently discovered that her Nothando had been bedding a 32-year-old man who teaches at a primary school in their village.

In return for her services the man was rewarding the girl with goodies.

These are just but two examples highlighting the predicament of scores of children from the rural areas who have dropped out of school while still at their primary level. There are many more who did not commence their primary studies at all due to various reasons.

For some children, their parents did not appreciate the need to educate them. Others come from impoverished families and were unfortunately excluded from government financed education assistance programmes.

Without receiving the appropriate education, some of these children have turned to crime while others have become parents at a young age.

Restoration of Hope Director Clive Simango believes that the journey through education is crucial in a child’s life as it helps to shape their future. “There are various aspects that contribute towards a child’s sound growth and development and education is one of them. The school curriculum is packed in a manner that equips a child for survival.

“For example, under the sexual reproduction health children learn how to act responsibly and how to have good social relations. At the same time the subjects which children learn help them to identify their skills and talents making it possible for them to identify their career paths,” said Simango.

He said there was a danger that if a child did not attend school he or she would never realise their full potential.

Simango said education was also an appropriate tool to elevate children who were coming from poor families.

“There are a number of children in the rural areas who didn’t attend school but it doesn’t mean they aren’t intelligent. Some of these children would have performed exceedingly well and they could have been awarded scholarships.

“Just because they failed to get that opportunity means they will grow up in poverty and die in poverty. To make matters worse, some children give up on their lives out of desperation,” he said.

A traditional leader from Bulilima District, Chief Masendu, said the mindset that some parents in the rural areas had was that children could survive in the diaspora even without attending school. He said guardians were not aware that by doing this, they are pushing their children into the deep end.

Chief Masendu said most children who dropped out of school were pioneers of immoral activities within his area. “It’s very difficult for an uneducated rural teenager who comes from an impoverished background to make ends meet. As a result some of the teenage boys engage in criminal activities in order to survive.

“The girls get involved with elderly men and some parents go on to use that as a means of getting groceries. Most teenage pregnancies in my area are recorded among primary school dropouts,” he said.

He urged parents to prioritise educating their children as most cases of teenage pregnancies were recorded among primary school drop outs.

Chief Masendu said scores of girls who were falling pregnant were below 16 years.

He said most of these juveniles were being impregnated by elderly men. He said a number of girl school dropouts were sexually active with their parent’s knowledge. “A number of children who are school dropouts are falling pregnant by men who are twice their age. Once they leave school, these children become idle and the next thing is that they engage in sexual activities,” said Chief Masendu.

The chief said a number of boy school dropouts below 16 years had become regulars at bottle stores while others were smoking mbanje.

Chief Masendu said some of the rural folk were not sending their children to school deliberately.

He said some parents working in the diaspora were preoccupied with building beautiful houses and acquiring wealth at the expense of sending their children to school.

He said other parents were leaving their children behind without proper guardians who could monitor their attendance in school.

Chief Masendu said while some children had dropped out of school because of parents’ negligence, others were driven out of school by long distances.

He said in his area some pupils had to travel about 20 kilometres to reach their nearest secondary schools.

Chief Masendu said education was necessary to retain order and focus in the lives of youngsters.

Another traditional leader from Mangwe District, Chief Bango said education was equally important to a rural child and a child in the urban areas.

“It’s unfortunate that most cases of children who are dropping out of school are recorded in rural communities yet that’s where educated children are needed the most. Rural communities need to produce educated children who can bring about development,” said Chief Bango.

He said on the other hand there were children who were coming from highly impoverished families and it was the duty of relevant authorities to ensure they received effective assistance that would enable them to get education.

He said it was unfortunate that rural communities were churning out more pregnant teenage girls and criminals than graduates.

Chief Bango said dropping out of school was the worst thing which could be brought upon a child’s life.

“The society is composed of various stakeholders who comprise civic organisations, NGOs, government departments, business communities and so on. Somehow there should be a way to ensure that scores of children who are out of school are catered for,” he said.

Not her real name.