Zimbabwe Schools Ban Breakfast Cereals after Students Used Them to Make Beer

A boarding school in Zimbabwe banned several breakfast cereals after students used them to brew beer.
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.
At least three schools in the south of the country have sent warnings to parents about bringing cereals from home, according to Zimbabwe’s Chronicle newspaper. Last term, officials at one high school sent text messages to parents, saying their children would not be allowed back with either the powdered cereal Morvite or oatmeal porridge. Other schools followed have reportedly followed their lead.
Local chemist Michael Dube told the Chronicle that the homebrew could pose a health risk to the students.

“The danger of doing this is that there is no method to control the alcohol content,” he said. “Their beer might have high alcohol levels, which may be a threat to their health.”

Underage drinking is a growing problem for Zimbabwe, as many young adults engage in “Vuzu” sex parties. Last month, police raided and arrested 224 students, some as young as 13, at a rowdy Vuzu party in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second largest city. Youths are said to abuse alcohol and drugs at the parties and reportedly engage in marathon sex sessions without protection.