(ANALYSIS) The absence of religious “safety nets” in schools has been blamed for the growth in juvenile delinquency across Zimbabwean society. Parents and communities are becoming aware of the vacuum caused by the absence of faith-based activities in educational institutions as a result of increased drug addiction and other crimes associated with Generation Z.

Christians, it should be noted, have been impacted by this more than any other religious group.

In 2016, for example, Lazarus Dokora, the then-minister of primary and secondary education in Zimbabwe, forbade Scripture Union activities in all schools and insisted on the contentious national pledge’s acceptance.

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Scripture Union is an interdenominational Christian movement that had operated in Zimbabwe for over 70 years and was present in almost all schools. The administration claimed to have just restored order in schools and not outlawed Scripture Union — yet the union never reappeared in full — proving that it was in fact outlawed.

As a result, SU clubs have all but vanished from elementary and secondary schools, only continuing to exist in various colleges and universities.

The Scripture Union’s main purpose was to help with children’s character formation, assisting in developing integrity through hard work and family values. Those qualities — including respect of authority, leadership and compassion for others — are what a society needs most.

Eight years after the ban, I looked into the issue and discovered the reasons for it. The Scripture Union’s operations were discontinued, according to a government official, because they ran counter to the new curriculum's emphasis on “national pride.”

According to the official, who spoke under condition of anonymity, the activities can only be resumed if they are in line with the idea of national pride under the rule of former leader Robert Mugabe.

“This occurred during the first republic, close to the conclusion of Mugabe’s rule. The minister introduced a revised curriculum that placed a greater emphasis on education. … For Zimbabweans, however, the national vow was something new. It gave history and culture more weight,” the official added.

The official went on to say this was the inspiration behind the removal of SU from school events.

In a meeting between Dokora and the heads of several Christian denominations in Harare, the ban was proclaimed, according to Mr. Kudakwashe Gwemende, who serves as the national director of Scripture Union Zimbabwe.

In a covert action, the government chose to use word-of-mouth communication with school administrators rather than writing an official directive.

"We learned that Scripture Union had been ordered to cease all of its activities in schools through a meeting held by the ministry," Gwemende said. “We awaited a letter or the meeting minutes. We were advised to wait, but we haven’t gotten any official communication, and nothing has happened since.”

The government unveiled a new curriculum that is centered around what’s called a “national pledge” — requiring students to subtly place their loyalty to the government rather than faith.

According to sources within the government, the ministry also contemplated at the time a ban on religious preference violations in schools over the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer.

"The Scripture Union activities were discontinued due to their conflict with the new curriculum's emphasis on national pride,” one official told me.

According to Gwemende, his organization was unsure of the precise adjustments required by the ministry to its operations in order to comply with the new curriculum. Following the termination of Scripture Union meetings and the prohibition of the Lord’s Prayer, the government also proceeded to halt the Gideon Foundation's Bible distribution program in schools.

In an appearance before the Parliamentary Committee on Education, Sports, Arts and Culture, Dokora said that religious organizations were simply entering schools to carry out their own projects — not ones in the national interest — and therefore he had to make the decision to ban such groups.

“Contrary to what some people are saying that we banned Scripture Unions, the real issue is that people and organizations were just coming to schools to do whatever they wanted,” he said.

Dokora added, “Since people and organizations were simply entering schools to do whatever they wanted, the true problem is not that we outlawed Scripture Unions, as some have claimed. We are saying those memorandums of understanding (MOUs) should be at the national level, and they should come to us first if they want to do something at schools.”

Christians were not pleased with the decision. They later accused Dokora, a Muslim, of representing Islamic interests.

The decision, according to religious scholar Terrance Muchiri, was poorly timed.

“The person least expected to forbid Christian-related events in schools was Minister Dokora,” Muchiri said. “Since he is a Muslim, nobody would view his choice as objective. Today's findings are telling because there are children everywhere misbehaving compared to the days of SU. No one stopped Muslim or Hindus to have their school clubs.”

 Calvin Manika is an award-winning international journalist based in Zimbabwe.