When parents influence their children to fail exams: A case of solving a problem by creating another

SIMBARASHE MSASANURI

(bongoblast column)
WHENEVER a child dies, our African tradition has it that there is always a cause. To be more precise traditionalists always believe that there will be a witch behind it. This then compels the parents of the dead child to consult a traditional healer, witch hunting so that they will know the actual person behind the misfortune.

This concept, however, seems to have become part and parcel of our educational system in this country as every year, we cry foul over poor results. A lot of noise is made whenever results - be they Grade Seven, Form Four or Advanced Level – are released.

Accusations and counter accusations are made as teachers, the governments and parents point fingers at each other, blaming each other for the dismal performance. Each and every party tries to convince us that they played their part to the fullest and that what happened was something out of their control.

I couldn't believe it when I came across a blast from Kondoa District where some parents are accused of colluding with their children sitting for grade seven examinations to mess up their test papers to avoid the cost of sending them to secondary school.

This is sheer madness as examiners are said to have been taken aback to see test papers full of strange drawings and graffiti that were in form of childish sketches of trees, houses, cartoons and incomprehensible sentences.

This reminds me of a story of a certain man who was married to a beautiful woman but was well known in that community for womanizing. He could get any woman he wanted as he had money, was influential and he commanded respect.

But, there was only one young woman in this village, he loved so much, who was giving him headaches as she always turned down his advances. Not even his money could lure this young lady. So the man thought of a way to have access to what he wanted. One of the days he lured the lady to a secluded place and raped her.

The man besides threatening the lady from telling anyone about it, showered her with money and gifts. But, all this did not work as she headed straight to a police station where she used the gifts and money as part of the exhibit.

The man was arrested but did not stay much behind bars as he ended up being granted bail. Lady luck caught up with him just as he left the court when he met one of his friends who advised him to visit a certain traditional healer, who could help him out of his problem.

The problem was that the healer lived very far from the area this man lived, but determination and the zeal to be a free man once again forced him to take the risk as the hearing session was just a couple of days away.

When he got at the traditional healer’s homestead, there was a crowd of people waiting for their turn to consult him. The man tried all the possibilities and avenues to jump the queue and consult the healer in time for his trial date but all was in vain. He couldn’t leave without being attended to since it was important for his case, so he had no option but to wait for a couple of days.

When his final turn came, the healer commonly known as Babu asked him if he was brave enough to undergo the ritual. Being desperate he told the healer that he was prepared for anything as long as that made him win his case, and was also willing to pay handsomely for the services.

So after mixing some herbs and giving him to drink, the man got a shock of his life when the traditional healer told him to remove his trousers. He removed them hesitantly but wondered why he was ordered to do such a thing. After finishing removing everything, according to the healer’s instruction, he couldn’t believe his eyes as his manhood had vanished.

So he asked the traditional healer what that meant and was told that he will go and strip before the magistrate and tell him that he wasn’t capable of raping someone since he didn’t have the means to do so. The traditional healer, however, warned the man to come back quickly for his manhood to be restored as failure to do so could be problematic.

He left the traditional healer’s homestead a happy man but all this was cut short as the process had taken him too long and a warrant of arrest had been issued. To cut the story short, the man had to stay in remand prison for nearly a year as the case was postponed several times. When he finally got tried, he pleaded not guilty and did exactly what the traditional healer had told him and he was discharged.

Celebrating his freedom, he rushed to the traditional healer’s house where he was greeted by an even larger crowd of people. He later discovered that some were sobbing while many of them were putting on sad faces. When he asked one of them, he was told that Babu, had died the previous day. He rushed from one relative of Babu to another trying to find out whether he had left something for him but no one seemed to know.

The irony of this story is that just like the man, these parents are trying to solve a problem by creating another. The man was free and out of jail yes, but he had another problem to deal with. These parents might think that they are doing the right thing by influencing their children to fail exams because they don’t have the money for secondary school, but they are creating yet another problem by failing to give a good future to their children.

The whole essence of giving children a good foundation in life is for them to be able to take care of themselves and take care of their parents in their old age. Educating children does not only benefit families but communities at large as they usually bring development to the area.

If these allegations labeled against these parents are true, then this is tantamount to witchcraft. I know they may think that they are solving a problem where they won't be compelled to pay a mere 70 000/- annual fees but this usually tend to backfire. Besides, they are deliberately denying children their right to education.

This issue, however, requires the responsible authorities to look deep into it and find the truth as these drawings on the test papers might later prove to be genuine as pupils will be ignorant to the extent of drawing or writing whatever comes to their mind.

Whatever the outcome of the investigations might be, it remains a sorry state of affairs where steps should be taken to make sure that children are not denied their right to education.

bongoblast@thisday.co.tz