EDUCATION permanent secretary for technical services Joel Kamoko says government is determined to curb school Related Gender Based Violence (SRGBV) in society with requisite urgency and a corresponding commitment of stakeholders.
Mr. Kamoko said schools must be places of safety away from homes to ensure that the development of the learners is holistic.
He observed that there is compelling evidence that is left to chance, the safety of children in schools is not guaranteed from the SRGBV vice.
Mr. Kamoko said this when he opened the ongoing High Level SRGBV sensitization workshop at Chaminuka Lodge in Lusaka yesterday.
This is according to a statement issued yesterday by the ministry’s Keeping Girls in School Initiative gender and communications specialist George Simumba .
Mr. Kamoko said Government had declared zero tolerance to SRGBV and would ensure that the necessary steps to guarantee the safety of children in school, on their way to school and in their homes.
“For us to ensure that the development of learners is holistic, it is important to ensure that schools are places of safety away from homes.
This Government declares zero tolerance to SRGBV and will take all necessary steps to guarantee the safety of children in school, on their way to school and in the homes where they children come from., “ he said.
Mr. Kamoko said in addition to schools being centers of learning, the ministry of Education wanted to make schools positive cultural transformation centers so that the development of learners was holistic and covered critical spheres of human development, among them the cognitive dimension, the effective dimension and the psychomotor dimension.
Mr. Kamoko said there was need to engage the national leadership, for them to better understand and then advocate increased awareness of the types and scale of SRGBV, prevention and response.
“SRGBV in Zambia is a public health crisis and its impact on the general education delivery and outcomes is extensive, complex, and far reaching, with girls experiencing disproportionate rates of sexual violence, harassment and exploitation.
We are also aware that adolescent boys experience severe and frequent physical violence in our schools, “ he added.
