Government’s ban on self-boarding leaves a lot to be desired. It smacks of mockery particularly at its orchestration on grounds that the facilities lead to high pregnancy, dropout rates and all the socialisation defects. It claims that girls subjected to the same do not perform to expectations because of various vulnerabilities.

I applaud such a concern repeated on July 26 2014 by the then principal secretary for the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology Dr Macphail Magwira. In a circular to education division managers, he reminded them of the ban on operating self-boarding in schools. He warned the managers against being involved in any issues concerning girls renting houses close to schools.

“We observed that some schools were conducting self-boarding without [the] ministry’s consent. There is lack of security; alcohol and drug abuse is rampant; there is lack of guidance since the students are neither in the hands of the schools nor their parents leading to exposure to prostitution, poor diet and as they engage in more chores, there is less time for study,” read the circular.

Now, pardon my indifference to the racket. The above stated reasons for the ban, in my opinion happen anywhere among school going children at any level of education. I have seen the so-called regulated boarding facilities grappling with alcoholism, prostitution, pregnancies and drop outs. Without necessarily backing the unregulated systems, I feel it’s unfair to label them in the negativity to portray their opposites in a better light. I’m sure more of us have witnessed college students bringing to their rooms men from outside the campus for pleasure, whether paid for or free.

I am curious to know how the so-called regulated facilities would ‘regulate’ the behaviour of students to get the desired effects as propagated by government. Cases of unwanted pregnancies have been there, will be there and some have probably just dropped out as I write this piece, pending delivery. This is in spite of where scholars have been. Prostitutes do not only have to operate from facilities. There are those who operate from home. The problems of sachets infiltrating boarding schools, colleges and general institutions of learning have taunted our systems for too long and if government was serious and candid, it should have addressed the concerns across the board rather than discriminatorily.

If self-boarding should be banned, it should be for reasons we have not heard before, something peculiar such as the scholars turning into birds at night to rob neighbourhoods. Even in the face of ample security or parental care and guidance, anyone on a mission will fulfill it; hence, no need for scapegoats. Those seeking education will get it and many have received it under notorious conditions. Have we not heard about family orchastrated marriages or pregnancies of under-aged children, the very unit government is claiming lacks in self boarders to push them elsewhere for material?

Indeed, those seeking self-boarding facilities have genuine reasons which I agree are prone to abuse by many masquerading as scholars to tarnish the image of others. Indeed some of these facilities are unregulated and happening in sub-standard conditions. Indeed, vulnerability is on the increase. But let us desist from being judgmental to push ideals we cannot fully back. The best that can be done is to help the deteriorating situations with the first step being to admit that unruliness will happen regardless.

We need a review of the self-boarding culture rather than to rush into banning. They cannot be the only source of evil.