(a) Explain three reasons students join cults. (b) State three government policies on cultism.

Answer Details

(a) Three reasons students join cults

1. Peer group influence: Friends and classmates pressure students to join in order to belong and be accepted by their group.
2. Desire for protection and power: Some students join believing membership will protect them from rivals and give them power and respect on campus.
3. Search for identity, recognition and material gain: Students join to feel important, gain status, or obtain money and undue advantages such as examination favours.

(b) Three government policies on cultism

1. Enactment of anti-cult laws: Government has made laws prohibiting secret cults and prescribing severe penalties, including imprisonment, for members and their sponsors.
2. Prohibition of cultism in schools: Government directs that schools ban all forms of secret cults and expel or dismiss any student found guilty of cult membership.
3. Public enlightenment and rehabilitation programmes: Government, through agencies and schools, organises awareness campaigns and offers amnesty and rehabilitation to members who renounce cultism.