By Staff Reporter

CATHOLIC owned girls high school, Dominican Convent has expelled eight students on grounds of misconduct after they were involved in drug abuse during a trip in Nyanga recently.

The students have been on suspension since their return from the trip which was held from 12 to 15 January this year.

In a statement, the school’s representative Sr Kudzai Mutsure, said after extensive investigations, the disciplinary board found the students guilty of violating school  drug policy.

“I write on a sad note to notify you that the eight girls we had put on suspension pending investigations on an incident that took place at the 2023 U6 leadership camp which was held in Nyanga from the 12th to the 15th of January, have been excluded from the school with immediate effect.

“The disciplinary committee exercised all principles of procedural fairness and found the girls guilty of violating the school drug policy,” reads the statement.

Mutsure said the girls were a threat to the school environment and other students.

“I have a responsibility to the whole school community and possessing, using or supplying a restricted substance including vaping is not acceptable, Investigations are still ongoing and we will not hesitate to weed out any more culprits to sanitise the school space.

“I pray that the girls will receive the rehabilitation they need and that all parents take an active role, in partnership with the school, to modify the inappropriate behaviour of their children.

“I believe that school officials’ efforts to protect students from the dangers of substance abuse are sometimes hampered by parents and community members in denial about the pervasiveness of the problem and the potential for any child to succumb to the lures of drugs.”

Mutsure appealed to the parents to be more vigilant and active by refining their parenting skills and being aware of their children’s activities as the school’s investigations showed that the pervasive behaviour started at home.

Drug abuse has become a heavy burden to families, communities, health and security systems in Zimbabwe.

It is reported that drug dealers are  taking advantage of Zimbabwe’s use of foreign currency as legal tender and the country’s porous borders to smuggle in drugs such as crystal meth, heroin, cocaine and cough mixtures like Broncleer to feed an ever growing market for drugs.

The situation has become hectic to an extent that a lot of Zimbabwean drug addicts are now using homemade concoctions, manufactured in backyards.