Pupils at Nyilamba Basic School in Zambezi district have started shunning school in preference for catching caterpillars also known as ‘vinkubala’.
Headmaster of the school, Chrispin Kaundula said the pupils mostly in lower grades have stopped attending school for almost a month as they have gone with their parents to collect caterpillars in the bush.
He said classes for lower grades have been closed because of this development.
This came to light when Gender and Women in Development Minister, Sarah Sayifwanda who is also Zambezi East Member of Parliament (MP) visited the school on her continued tour of developmental projects in her constituency.
Mr. Kaundula noted that the school is usually affected around this time of the year as parents migrate with their children to far way areas in the forest of Zambezi in search of caterpillars.
He said caterpillar selling is the many business for people in the area as they exchange with second hand clothes and other goods while some sell in cash to traders who come from as far as Congo DR and Lusaka.
Meanwhile census enumerators in the area have also complained that they are finding it difficulty to count people in the villages because most of them are out collecting caterpillars.
Nyilamba area Census Supervisor Milimo Moombe said the enumerators were finding it difficulty as they could hardly found anyone in some of the villages.
“We have been facing challenges in counting the people because there are no people to count in most villages, am told they go into the bush to catch caterpillars.” he said.
ZANIS
sad that such things do happen in this day and age, its all coz of poverty
Have a mid term-breaks for such seasonal food gathering areas.
The new name for Zambia is ‘ZAMBEZILAND’ ask these pupils to debate this issue after their return from vinkubal gathering…
hahahahaha iye hahaha poverty ibvi haha. seriously this is a sad development, sure 46 years after and this is happening and we have a government! where is the money we demand! tell us! people are still hunters in a country thats 46 years old!? to make matters worse caterpillar hunters?? our friends hunt for leisure ifwe its a source of income. sad really sad
Imwe bantu sure, wat is becoming of this country, not a single day goes by without some weird story making headlines. Pipo have just been bragging of bumper harvest and yet children are unable to go to school prefering to go and catch caterpillars instead. Am sure these children other than extreme poverty are not inspired. Coz they see there educated brothers just wallowing the streets without any jobs and meaningful lives. Elo lwanya pa zed. I wonder wat kind of a country it will be 20-30 yrs from now. I foresee total havoc.
You cannot force a horse to drink, if their parents believe catching caterpillars is more important than school, so be it.
Iwee #4 you think people will eat maize alone this is seasonal there is nothing wrong with catcting binkubala .
#2 Good thinking
#2, What difference will the name ‘Zambeziland’ make as far as development is concerned?
there is no immediate solution to this problem