Violence in educational milieu mars success - Gender activist

The Director of Gender Empowerment and Development, GEED, Tilder Ndichia, has said the achievement of education for all as enshrined in the UN Millennium Development Goals, MDGs, is seriously undermined by violence in the education environment in Cameroon.

She made the statement in a workshop in Yaounde, August 28, held under the theme “Teacher’s training on preventing and responding to school-related gender-based violence.”

She remarked that School-Related Gender-Based Violence, SRGBV, can be physical, sexual or psychological and is either perpetrated by teachers, students or community members. She held that violence against young people in school is linked to socio-cultural traditions, weaknesses of education systems and community practices.

The GEED Director equally cited corporal punishment, exploitative labour, rape, indecent touching, sexually suggestive remarks and verbal abuses as forms of physical, sexual and psychological violence. She narrated that SRGBV can result in physical injury, pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, school drop-out, and diminishing performance in school or psychological ill-health.

She urged participants from different educational milieu to make school a safe place for children and not a punishment and torture ground. Ndichia appreciated the massive turnout of participants constituting teachers, guidance counsellors, disciplinarians and students from different schools around the Centre Region.

Some participants present highlighted some pertinent problems faced in their various educational institutions. The guidance counsellor of GBHS Mbalmayo in the Nyong and So’o Division, Quinta Chupe, told The Post that she has acquired knowledge from the workshop that will greatly help her manage her students.

A student from the Institute of Technology and Management Yaounde, Divine Oben, advised teachers to find the root cause of crimes committed by students before punishing them.

Ndichia referred to Articles 49 and 361 of the Cameroon Civil Code which bestows on parents the sole right to chose spouses for their children as bias.

She called on national education, protection structures and professionals to get serious in their duty of ensuring that children’s rights to education and protection are respected in the country.

It’s worth noting that, the GEED works in partnership with a German-based gender empowerment and development institution and 30 schools all over the country.