Some Students from Torit of Eastern Equatoria State have raised their concerns that inadequate number of female teachers hinders girls from reporting gender based violence happening in schools.
The call came during a round table discussion organized by Radio Emmanuel with support from Internews South Sudan.
An outgoing Senior four student from Fr. Saturlino Ohure Memorial Secondary School Nania Osman Delman calls for recruitment of more female teachers to make it extra comfortable for girls to express themselves freely when experiencing difficulties within the school.
We are having only male teachers in secondary school you know we have few female teachers and they are not even seen sometimes, most of the times and some of us girls are shy to approach male teachers so I think it will also be better if they employ more female teachers in secondary school, such that some girls who are not having that courage of facing the male teachers with their various issues they should go to the fellow female and ask them about it and to express themselves more
Osman expresses disappointment when a male teacher failed to resolve her complain and report on sexual harassment from her fellow male students.
I reported then the teacher was like you girls you have very many issues sometimes you need even those boys to touch you the you come and pretend and like you are reporting them you now that teacher I think he was not in his sense so I got annoyed I just left that office and I went away
Another student, Sunday Peter points out that because male teachers are having relationships with some students, they intentionally fail to teach.
This thing happen to me and my friend because that time we were candidate, the time we were in examination there is a teacher who is teaching us when that teacher came inside the class because there is a lady he wants from the class when that lady is not around that teacher cannot teach us, he will say I will come after because he falls in love with that lady
A Senior Woman Teacher, Margret Quintino from Fr. Saturlino Ohure Memorial School mentions that both teachers and students should concentrate on their specific roles for the betterment of the society.
She calls for respects from both male and females teachers including the students in school.
Everybody came to school in order to learn something either a teacher or a student everybody have her role in the society and to develop the society girls should look at boys as their brothers and boys look this like your sister touching your selves unnecessarily is not good it will make you to rape a girl in the school, which is not good
Another teacher, Brother Paul Okot urges girls to report sensitive cases to their school head girl in absence of a senior woman teacher in their school.
Another thing that we could do as teachers how we conduct it when the reaction come to the problem when you conduct in a wrong way that is why in the school from time to time when the female teachers are few, we get a girl who is heading the girl when a certain girl is having a problem will go to the head girl and the head girl will go the school officer to tell that this person is having a problem the he the one to contact the others
The one-day round table discussion on forms, causes and effects of Gender Based Violence brought together eleven learners and teachers from Dr John Garang Memorial Secondary School and Fr. Saturlino ohure Memorial Secondary School in Torit with sponsorship from Internews-South Sudan.