The divergent views on whether schools should
open or remain closed are global no doubt, but I would like to share my views here from the perspective of a parent and an entrepreneur in Nigeria.
I have my worries; by the time children return to in-class learning eventually,
most schools would have a lot to do, both in addressing some inevitable lapses in academics and in correcting wrong behaviours
that many of their pupils might have developed in the course of the prolonged
lockdown.
Prior to this time, there was enough evidence to show
that the partnership between school and the home in the training of the child
had always relied more on the former in keeping the child in check. The pupil
spends more time in school, and he returns home into the hands of a hired caregiver
for the most part before the engaged parent arrives. So, many parents usually look
up to the school for keeping their wards disciplined and morally aligned as
part of the total educational package.
Sometimes, for a parent to keep the child in check, it takes a threat to report his misbehaviour to her teacher or proprietor to make him sit up. At other times, it’s the
keen observation of the school authorities that draws the timely attention of a
parent to the disturbing behavioural pattern a child has suddenly developed.
There is absolutely no doubt that the child is at his best when he inter plays with his mates in school. This is what makes up the school
content in him. There is a likelihood of negative consequences when a child is left all by
himself at home or in the midst of his adult siblings whose language and predilections are often at variance
with what a little one should be exposed to. In no time,the exposure to uncensored media
and the absence of monitored activities may begin to impact his psyche and behavior
irreparably. Worst still, there have been reports of many pupils who have been physically abused during this period!
Therefore, when the average school owner laments the
continuing closure of schools – a situation that is in its fourth month
this July, and with no clear indication yet on resumption date, these are part
of the worries. Unfortunately, the ready interpretation by many people is that she is
more concerned with the loss of revenue than the well being of the children
entrusted in her care! Really?
Those in support of government's unyielding stand point to how impossible it is to restrain pupils from freely interacting with one another. It is indeed
easy to imagine how infections can spiral out of control, travelling from the
schools through teachers and pupils to our various homes and public places! But have we given a thought to the truth that, even as we speak, there are hundreds of pupils from indigent homes who are in the open markets daily, indiscriminately partaking of the selling and buying in the hustles for survival?
All said, removing the in-school learning from the child can be just
as dangerous to his mental and psychological well being. Not all pupils would be able to participate in distance learning and online teaching, for obvious reasons.
From every account, the proprietor is today on her own. It's her headache how she copes with salaries and overheads in the midst of zero income. Strangely, there are parents who are happy to have saved themselves the fees meant for a term. The teachers have no problem either; they have
simply turned themselves into itinerant merchants, engaging in private teaching
in different homes!
But of course I have been talking all these while about private schools.The infrastructures in most of these schools are top class with built in hygienic facilities. If they require any upgrading to meet up with the current pandemic-dictated standard, it will be minimal and would take no time at all!. It is obvious therefore that the continuous closure of schools is due to the total lack of basic facilities in majority of our public schools and the sheer difficulty of installing same in record time! Like the doom that befell several public corporations of old through mismanagement, giving rise to private enterprises whose ownership are more adept and passionate at running their own businesses successfully, private schools and their pupils are today the scapegoats for government's ineptitude!
Yorubas would say, "da bi mo se da" ! It is even more frustrating that as we speak,no visible action is being taken to upgrade and install the needed facilities in these public schools.It seems the government is simply wishing the virus would disappear!
How long can the children be kept off their schools? In the face of what we now know about corona virus globally, when will it ever be completely safe for the children to return
to school? Will keeping them at home for
the entire remainder of 2020 give us the needed guarantee of an infectious-free
environment in schools in 2021?
And what happens to the legion of stakeholders whose
fates are tied to schools: the staff,
suppliers, book publishers, transporters, tailors, and other service providers?
How many businesses must shut down, how
many people must be pushed into the already saturated labour market? Yet, there are those who think that what is behind our government’s intransigence is
not so much the concern for our collective safety, as the conditions attached to the millions of dollars
rolling in from foreign donors!
I think our government must see the wisdom in opening our institutions sooner than later, give strict guidelines
on what schools must do to keep their children safe, and have officials
from the supervising Ministries go round to monitor compliance, with severe penalties to erring schools.
