Schools in Zimbabwe have caught up to a novel way students get drunk. According to a report by The Guardian, "Pupils reportedly mix the cereals with brown sugar and yeast and leave the mixture to ferment in the sun, creating a potent alcoholic mixture which the pupils drink right under the noses of school authorities."
The cereals are made of sorghum and are a popular breakfast choice in Zimbabwe. Tennyson Hlabangana high school in Bulawayo got wind of the scheme and notified the pupils' parents. The purchase of Mortive powdered cereals and oatmeal porridge is now advised against by the school in light of the discovery.
"We received messages advising us not to buy Morvite when buying groceries for our children. After conducting our investigations we established that the cereal was being fermented into alcohol," an unnamed parent was quoted.
Tennyson Hlabangana is only one of three high schools which have cracked down on the school-brewed beer. Other schools especially in Matabeleland South that include Cyrene Boys High and Embakwe have reportedly banned the breakfast cereals too.
Concerns about underage drinking started becoming rampant when some 224 pupils, some as young as 13 years old, were caught in a "vuzu" party last month, The Drinks Business reported. "Youths are said to abuse alcohol and drugs at the parties," reported the Chronicle. "Pupils whose parents are in the diaspora often host the lavish parties."
The "vuzu" party was at Rest Camp in the edge of the Bulawayo city. A further 57 people we arrested at a Lochview suburb just two weeks ago for similar offenses.
The sorghum cereals, if found on school grounds, are to be confiscated. Time reported that "The danger of doing this is that there is no method to control the alcohol content," says Michael Dube, a local chemist. "Their beer might have high alcohol levels, which may be a threat to their health."
