adminVusumuzi Dube and Lackson Munkombwe
THE Townsend High School saga where the school held a controversial auction of pupil’s cellphones took a dramatic twist last week when it emerged that some of the confiscated cellphones contained pornographic material.
The auction saw parents, teachers and any locals who managed to sneak into the school development committee meeting buy modern smart phones like Samsung S4s, Blackberries, Android and Nokia Windows phones for as little as $15 with the most expensive going for $20. Normally smart phones range between $100 and $300.
Parents who approached Sunday News after the publication of the initial article threw their weight behind the school’s policy revealing that they had found a number of pornographic videos and images on the mobile phones they had purchased, expressing concern that the mobile phones were not being used for academic reasons. The parents confirmed purchasing the cellphones for a song but said they saw nothing wrong in this as this was a way of punishing both the parents and pupils against the illegal use of these cellphones.
One of the parents, Mr Harris Dumani, revealed that he was disgusted when he scrolled through the cellphone to find dirty videos and images, saying this clearly showed that the pupils were not using the phones for any academic purpose.
He said the modern day smart phones were now more of dirty phones as they no longer served their intended purpose, especially at schools.
“I don’t want to lie. I bought a phone during the auction, of which I was the highest bidder at $20. While people might make a lot of noise about this, the real issue is what I found on that cellphone. There were pornographic videos and all sorts dirty pictures. What I discovered on that phone left me in shock that our children are doing such things instead of concentrating on their school work.
“I know that some parents might argue that the children now can use these cellphones for research purposes but they have no idea what those cellphones have. They should come to me then I show them what I found. It proved to me that these gadgets are not at all used for research as we thought they are,” said Mr Dumani.
Another parent who preferred anonymity concurred with Mr Dumani revealing that she had bought two cellphones for $15 and $20, where she noted that both phones contained similar pornographic videos.
“This clearly shows that these videos are circulating within the school. Yes, it might seem cruel that the school had to confiscate these cellphones and sell them for a song but I feel there was no other option. Further, the school authorities could have deleted the videos and pictures but they left them on purpose. We now know what our children do with these gadgets, instead of crying we must now come up with solutions to this problem,” said the parent.
However, another parent blasted the school authorities claiming there were a lot of irregularities within the school that needed to be investigated as a matter of urgency.
“Until those authorities realise that a cellphone is a communication device then we are going nowhere. As it is I am based in Harare, how do I honestly communicate with my child when they don’t have a cellphone. We are long past the days of letters; we are now leaving in the digital era.
“Besides, something has to be done at that school. Last year children who use Carnigic Hostel were asked to fundraise for the purchase of a plasma television at their hostel. I understand over $1 000 was raised but up to now no television has been purchased. They should tell us where the money went to,” said the parent, who also preferred anonymity.
Contacted for comment, Bulawayo provincial education director Mr Dan Moyo said the school had since confirmed the holding of the auction but refused to comment on allegations that pornographic material had been found on the cellphones.
“We have since confirmed the holding of that auction and currently consulting with the school on the best way to handle it but as of these new revelations I am not aware of them,” said Mr Moyo.
Efforts to get a comment from the school head, a Mrs M Moyo, were fruitless as she was constantly said to be out of the office.
However, a school official confirmed that indeed some cellphones were discovered with pornographic material.
“When these cellphones were confiscated we did not go through them hence after the auction we have had a number of parents coming to show us the pornographic material. We are thus in the process of handling the matter, but as a school we are maintaining our stance that no cellphones are allowed within the school premises and if any pupil is found with one we will confiscate it,” said the official.
Online Reporter