Sex scandal: Pupils drop out as makeshift boarding closes

AN Agritex house that had been turned into a makeshift boarding facility for Ndlovu Secondary School female pupils in Hwange District has been dosed, weeks after it emerged that some of the girls were engaging in sex with men from the community.

The dilapidated house, which was dosed a fortnight ago, accommodated girls from distant areas attending Ndlovu Secondary School which is about 50km out of Victoria Falls town in Matabeleland North Province.

Officials from the Department of Social Welfare are now planning to visit the school to investigate the matter and possibly "bring" back the children to school.

The girls resided at the Agritex house which was outside the school premises where some of them would engage in sexual activities.

A fortnight ago, The Chronicle published a story of the sex scandal at the makeshift boarding facility involving the pupils and some men from the community, leading to the closure of the house.

An Agritex officer, Arab el Ncube, was reportedly renting out the house to the pupils without the knowledge of her superiors. Ncube could not be reached on her mobile phone yesterday.

Some of the girls (names provided) doing Forms One, Two, Three and Four admitted openly engaging in sex on numerous occasions with a group of men and boys from a nearby village.

The alleged sex escapades happened in their shared rooms in the presence of their roommates and also on the same bed at a house belonging to one of the suspected child abusers.

Some parents are concerned that the girls are no longer attending school and this could destroy their future.

'The house has been dosed and the parents of those girls haw been told to find alternative accommodation here in the villages. We heard that the Agritex officer had not informed her bosses about the arrangement which is why the house is being dosed," said a villager from Ndlovu.

Provincial Child Welfare Officer, Macnon Chirinzepi said the department was engaging the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education over the issue.

"Yes, we received a report and we had planned to go to the school this week but postponed (the visit) because of a funeral. This is really an issue of concern. We are engaging our sister ministry so that we visit the school to find a way forward and make sure the children return to school," said Chirinzepi.

Provincial Education Director, Boitathelo Mnguni, said the girls became vulnerable the first day they were allowed to stay in the Agritex house.

She challenged the school and parents of the pupils to engage each other and find better accommodation for the children within the school premises.

'This is a very difficult matter to handle. We had to agree to dosing the house but at the same time we want children to learn. We want them protected. The fact is these lads have been vulnerable all along because of the nature of their accommodation," she said.

"I wonder why parents are not emulating other communities which engage teachers and school authorities to allow their children to stay within the school premises, depending on the availability of accommodation. That way, the children become the full responsibility of the teachers."

The girls, aged between 14 and 16 years, said they were in love with some of the men and boys, who would pick them from their boarding facility. The men, some of whom are former pupils of the school, and some boys, would engage in sex with the girls overnight and return them to the make shift boarding facility on the following morning in time for lessons.

One of the men believed to be the ring leader, Oliver Maseko, is in jail for a previous case of rape.

Six girls were in May suspended for two weeks and a Form One girl, was transferred to another school in the same area after serving her suspension.