KAMKHWELI – About 10 pupils from KaMkhweli primary School aged between eight and 18 have been discovered to have contracted sexual transmitted infections (STIs).

This was disclosed by the school’s principal Zanele Dlamini during a parents meeting on Friday.
She said this shocking discovery was made by the nurse who usually came to the school to conduct treatment for various illnesses on the pupils.

“It was discovered that some of the pupils’ sexually transmitted infections have reached a critical stage in such a way that they were developing a bad smell,” she said.
The principal also told the shocked parents that some of the pupils had to be sent to hospital to see a doctor because of the seriousness of their sickness.

She said most of the time when they ask some of the young girls what could have been the cause they cite family problems whereby they are abused.
He said some were discovered to have contracted the infections from their boyfriends.

Dlamini said they now have a nurse who usually comes to the school to teach the girls about the danger of HIV/AIDS.
“We have a number of cases where the pupils had to be sent to a doctor for treatment. The nurse who helps sometimes tell us that she will be unable to help the children because she has discovered that their sickness needed the attention of a doctor,” she said.

“She also said there were a lot of family dirty linen (tibi tendlu), that are related to us by the pupils, but we cannot deal with them as a school,” she said.
The principal said the reason for her to raise this  issue during the meeting was to raise awareness to the parents so that they can be observant.

...they carry dangerous weapons to school 

KAMKHWELI- Pupils from KaMkhweli primary school carry dangerous weapons to school.
So serious is the situation that one of the pupils has been expelled after he attempted to stab another in classroom.

Principal of the school told the parents that they have since seized the knife which the pupil wanted to use to stab his colleague.

“We tried to talk to his parents about this, but we discovered that he was indisciplined. Carrying of dangerous weapons is high amongst boys,” he said. The principal also told the parents that before they show a pupil the exit door they follow all the laid down procedures of disciplining a pupil. She said most of the weapons that the pupils carry were home made and something needs to be done to stop this as they might injure each other.

Parents suggested that a body search must be conducted to make sure that the pupils do not enter the classrooms with dangerous weapons. They also suggested that service of the Royal Swaziland Police should be sought as the situation might go out of hand. It was agreed that a body search be conducted at the exit point as this will help decrease the number of weapon that eventually find their way into the school’s premises.