The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) has demanded regulated access to the internet for pupils in the region in order to protect their ‘morals’.

The regional economic body said it is concerned about the abuse of internet services by schoolchildren in the region, which has the ability to corrupt their morals.

Comesa secretary general Sindiso Ngwenya urged school authorities to regulate and limit the use of mobile phones among pupils to ensure that they focus on school instead of abusing the internet.

And early this year, the Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA) developed consumer protection guidelines, which urge service providers in the country to put in place mechanisms to enable parents block illicit harmful content to their children.

“There should be regulated access to the internet for pupils which has the ability to corrupt their morals,” Ngwenya said.

He was speaking this week when he received credentials from the Apostolic Nuncio to Zambia and Malawi Julio Morat as special representative of the Holy See to Comesa.

As in many other countries in the region, the Catholic Church owns and operates hundreds of schools in Zambia including universities.

The consumer protection guidelines were produced by ZICTA after extensive consultations with the country’s service providers and consumers.

ZICTA acting manager for consumer protection Edgar Mlauzi said then that there is need to monitor what children do on the internet in order to protect them.