How long school hours contribute to social ills in society

I have great admiration for people who attended school in the 1960s and 70s. Most exude a sense of self-assuredness and intelligence rare today. And even though many did not attend more than ten years of schooling, they can hold their own against today’s graduates, even run rings around some when it comes to creative thinking, problem solving and understanding our history. Their grasp of foreign and local affairs is impressive. One thing is clear though; the education system at the time dwelt on the mental and physical development of an individual, equipping them with life’s skills, never once showing bias for cramming to pass national examinations.

Parenting was a communal task. Society collectively instilled positive values in children from an early age. Indeed, a post espied on social media that in the olden days children could be punished for looking, or not looking at an elder, or be punished for beating or losing a fight with a neighbour’s child. This clearly emphasises that children were taught to be objective, develop their situational awareness and adopt to situations as circumstances demanded. The same cannot be vouched for today; at home or in school.

Suicide among adults as an escape from the hard realities of life was frowned upon, so much that those who voluntarily took their lives were never mourned, and in some communities were buried at night at the back of the homestead to symbolise that their memories would not be entertained. It was inconceivable then that a child could commit suicide, much less understand what it was. Yet reading news nowadays, one learns that children as young as six years have committed suicide. In most of the reported cases, the suicides had to do with home and school related stresses. And sadly, the cases are on the increase.

Anti-social behaviour

What changed? No doubt, some of the symptoms exhibited by a majority of children are related to sleep deprivation. These include obesity, weakened immune systems; mood changes, suicidal thoughts, poor concentration, irritability and general anti-social behaviour. A recent study on crime revealed an exponential rise in crime during school holidays, signifying that a majority of criminals today are youngsters whom situations and lack of proper parenting have conditioned to behave anti-socially. Rigid hours of schooling have turned children into zombies. As early as 5am school children will be found at bus stages, waiting to be ferried to school. For one to be at the bus stage that early, it means they woke up at around 4am. The stay at school stretches to 6pm; a day spent with little physical activity not just because playgrounds for children are a rarity these days, the rigid school curriculum and pressure to complete the syllabus on time allows little time for play.

After school, the child is given homework in all subjects. The fast one will be lucky to go to bed shortly before midnight. At most, such a child enjoys only five hours of sleep, yet scientists prescribe no less than eight hours on any given day, particularly for children. Interestingly, or sadly, scientific studies show that less than eight hours of sleep in a day increases the risk of death by 12 per cent as well as increase the risk of heart diseases. These factors demand a review of school hours.

Problem solving

Policymakers must appreciate that long hours in class do not make learners better, it only leads to fatigue that manifests in strange behaviour, restlessness and aggressive behaviour. Employers complain of lack of problem solving skills and creativity in today’s graduate. Partly, that is because learners are conditioned to merely cram to pass exams and increase their school’s mean score, yet are expected to be problem solvers later in life as employed graduates.

Some of us attended school when pupils were required to report to school at 8am and would leave at 3.30pm. In between, there would be plenty of boisterous play that allowed socialising, promoted respect and allowed us to be children.

We played games that tested creativity and physical activity that developed muscles and burned unwanted fat. Today’s children have been denied this in the name of education. The few minutes at break time, and often under supervision are not good for them. Children should be allowed time to be themselves and to explore on their own. Even cars that run long distances for extended periods of time break down regularly.

Many children walk around with a stoop from carrying heavy school bags, beyond what their little frames can bear. Learning should be done in moderation to allow the knowledge to be fully assimilated, the experience enjoyable as opposed to a boring routine. The education system, as it stands today, is more injurious to learners. And truth be told, when they enter the harsh world, they discover their education offers very little comfort in terms of relevancy and provision of requisite preparation to see them through life.

Mr Chagema is a correspondent at The [email protected]