MARTHA MAMOMBE
President Emmerson Mnangagwa recently extended the Level 4 lockdown by another two weeks, meaning the new normal in education, digital learning, will remain a necessity for students and schools in Zimbabwe.
With online learning at the core of education now, apparently, more and more children below the age of 18 are being thrust into the world of online tools for learning.
This means chances are high that school going children are also exposed to inappropriate content ranging from pornographic material, cyber-bullying, extortion and abuse as well as age-inappropriate media including music and films.
Children’s rights group, Save the Children is addressing the need after launching a campaign to increase participation of parents and teachers in monitoring children’s online activities, raising awareness on the tools and resources available to report abuse, seek support and help and advocating safe online use.
The programme which began with an 11-episode radio series is being taken to rural and marginalised schools.
“Covid-19 has introduced a new dynamic in terms of how children access education and it was important for us as Save The Children to highlight this issue and bring it to light. Now, excessive screen time increases the risk of child online abuse as children may end up accessing harmful sites and inappropriate content,” Save The Children Programmes Officer Givemore Magumuye said.
He added: “With the likelihood of more and more children having unlimited and unmonitored use of digital devices, there is a need to introduce safety tools in homes and schools to guide children through online use.
Parents tasked with the pressures of everyday life, trying to make ends meet during an unprecedented global health crisis are finding little to no time to keep up with their children’s online activities.
Women and children are more likely to face online abuse because of vulnerability. For some children you may notice a dip in their school performance.”
Save the Children is banking on the SMART Steps acronym to help raise awareness. The steps outline the five key habits to mitigate cyber abuse.
- Stay safe online and remember never to share your private information.
- Manage who you make friends with, do not meet people you only know through online platforms in person.
- Act on what you know, do not accept or open emails and content sent from people you do not know.
- Rely on your instincts. If someone or something seems strange, it probably is. Check with your parents or adults you trust.
- Talk to someone if you face challenges online, if someone harasses or abuses you online report.
The disruption to education gains since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020 were perfectly articulated by the United Nations Children’s Fund Country Representative Dr Tajudeen Oyewale who said “an estimated 4.6m children in Zimbabwe were affected by disruptions of school closures since last year”.
He made the remarks during an online address marking the International Day of the African Child.
Parents are being encouraged to use discretion when giving children access to digital devices even for learning purposes.
Millennials are no doubt tech savvy and access to websites and online applications is easy and uncontrolled leaving children susceptible to adverse behavioural change patterns brought by content consumption.
While the Covid-19 pandemic rages on in different levels across the globe experts believe online learning will be part of education moving forward. Educators will subsequently need training on how to effectively manage incidents of online related dangers.
To put it into context and show the seriousness of the scourge globally, it is estimated that up to 1bn children aged 2 to 17 years, have experienced physical, sexual, or emotional violence or neglect in the past year.
