SNAT against voter education in schools

MBABANE

– “Schools are supposed to be gun-free zones.”

This is the view of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT). Speaking yesterday when sought for comment about concerns raised by some head teachers, Lot Vilakati, the Secretary General (SG) of SNAT, said they had noted with concern that the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) was still carrying out civic and voter education exercise in schools yet lessons were ongoing.

Vilakati said this was wrong and that it was also not right to have armed police officers in schools. He said this was intimidating for children as they associated firearms with violence.

Noteworthy, even in other countries, the presence of armed police officers in schools usually causes outcry.

This has been the case in South Africa during raids and search for drugs. Whenever police officers arrived to search premises while armed, parents often protested.

Recently, in a United States school, armed police who were guarding a school after a mass shooting resulted in an outcry. This was despite that the police officers were guarding the school, days after several children were shot dead by a man who had invaded the school.

Firearms

Vilakati said pupils were now associating firearms with the recent unrest and that while police officers were there to fight crime, this could still be intimidating for them.

“Even when arresting a child, who is wanted, they should do it at his home,” said Vilakati.

He said the presence of police officers will likely affect the performance of pupils because they were currently learning and preparing for examinations.

Vilakati also said SNAT was opposed to the carrying out of civic and voter education exercise during school time.

“Why can’t they ask the pupils to attend civic education in

their respective venues?” asked Vilakati, rhetorically.

He said the civic education should not be done in schools but in the communities where the children lived.