Teso sports teachers warned against sexual relationships with young athletes

The Association of Secondary School Headteachers of Uganda (ASSHU) – Teso sub-region, through its representative Eliphaz Ewalu Opolot, has urged games teachers and coaches to avoid being implicated in sexual relationships with young athletes.

Opolot, while speaking to games teachers, coaches, and district chairpersons at the closure of the USSSA Teso zone symposium at Soroti Secondary School on Saturday, February 20, condemned educators who engage in relationships with young people in sports.

"I hope the information and experiences you have shared today in this meeting will help you avoid being implicated by the law for going into unwanted relationships with young athletes who are even your children," Opolot said.

According to Opolot, ASSHU will not tolerate any teacher who strays outside the teachers' code of ethics by engaging in a sexual affair with a student, who is even like his or her own child.

The symposium, which gathered 200 games teachers across the zone, was organized to provide a collaborative, interactive, and high-impact learning environment for games teachers, managers, and district sports chairpersons.

John Robert Osuu, the USSSA Teso zone chairperson, in a message presented by the vice chairperson Tom Odeke, warned headteachers and sports masters to use the right athletes during the championships that start from schools, districts, zones, and up to nationals.

"Using the right-aged athletes during the championship will minimize complaints and break the law which the President of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, endorsed," he said.

According to Osuu, headteachers should do whatever it takes to ensure that athletes who play at school, district, and zonal levels are genuine to avoid embarrassment to the school, the athlete, and the team leader. "It will be very hard for those schools that do not follow the guidelines," Osuu noted.

Peter Okwi, the general secretary of Teso zone, encouraged all schools to put more emphasis on sports, saying it is the only way of identifying talents among children.

"Although schools are doing a good job to educate the children, they should also develop their talents in singing, athletics, volleyball, netball, and football, among others," Okwi said.

According to Okwi, every learner has a talent. It is the duty of their teachers to help them develop it so that if one fails in class, he or she can use that talent to earn a living.