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In the wake of runaway indiscipline cases in our secondary schools, various stakeholders are pondering and scratching their heads on the best way to contain the happenings especially the burning down of schools in most parts of the country.
I think the primary boarding schools are partly to blame for these occurrences. It beats logic when a parent takes his kid of 7 years and ‘dumps’ him in a boarding school. These kids lack care and guidance from their guardians/parents. They grow ‘hiding’ their characters/behaviors from their parents and when school closes, the badly behaved students turn to ‘saints’ while at home. There are situations where parents have differed with the school administration when called to schools to discuss their children’s misconducts. They even pull out their children from such schools and transfer them to others. This comes about since they highly trust their kids and would never imagine the kids would do such acts.
These children have nowhere to learn morals apart from their peers whom normally misguide them. The teachers’ task is mostly consumed by teaching the pupils which leaves little room for moral guidance. In fact some of these teachers have been accused of seducing and molesting these pupils.
When a child is sent to boarding school, then it’s no doubt a major chunk of his upbringing is handed to someone else. For example, when a child goes to boarding school, you are relinquishing a lot of the decisions you would normally make about what your child is and isn’t allowed to do, and the responsibility for their upbringing falls temporarily on someone else’s shoulders. They will probably be going to someone else in this case a teacher, with their problems, which may make a parent feel redundant. This sounds absurd.
I have heard of several parents longing for school openings so as to relieve them off the burden (their children’s unwanted behaviors).
I think it’s time the government should review its policy as far as primary boarding schools and make necessary changes on the same. Boarding schools should start at secondary level. Primary boarding schools are partly to blame for the current cases of indiscipline.
It’s time the government should do away with primary boarding sections.
