The Many Woes In Our Secondary Schools –Teachers, Parents

The death of the teenager, Sylvester Oromoni (Junior) as a result of bullying at the Dowen College, Lekki, Lagos, has once again opened the eyes of parents and school administrators to how steep decadence has ravaged the fabrics of the country’s secondary education system. For parents and teachers, this is a wake-up call to salvage the situation. Report by ROLAND OGBONNAYA, OYENIRAN APATA, OYIN SOMORIN 

During the week, aggrieved members of the civil society organisations, mothers and activists staged a protest at the National Assembly, Abuja to demand justice for Keren-Happuch Aondodoo, a 14- year old boarding student of Premiere Academy Lugbe Abuja and 12-year-old Sylvester Oromoni of Dowen College Lagos. The death of these two teenagers though occurred at different locations has one thing in common.

The protesters, under the aegis of the Coalition of Gender-Based Responders (CGBR) called on President Muhammadu Buhari to order the immediate closure of Premiere Academy Lugbe Abuja over the rape and death of Keren as well as the circumstances surrounding the death of Sylvester.

The President quickly responded to the news of the tragic incident at Dowen College, in Lagos where morbid details emerged of how “our young son, Sylvester Oromoni (Junior) met his death”.

“I share the anger and grief in the country following this incident. On behalf of my family and I, and the government of the federation, I convey our heartfelt condolences to the Oromoni family, the government and the people of Lagos State and give the firm assurance that this incident will be thoroughly investigated and the appropriate punishment meted out to all those who are culpable.”

The incident has further raised concerns and questions on the role of parents, schools, and the society on expected standards and discipline in child upbringing. Late Sylvester Oromoni Jnr. purportedly died as a result of bullying and torture said to have been visited on him by some senior students who wanted him to join their cult group, an incident that has elicited widespread condemnation from concerned groups, parents, school managers, state and federal governments. However, beyond the lamentation over the death at Dowen College, stakeholders agreed that though bullying is not a recent development, it stemmed from the behaviours and conduct of parents and adults from the home front.

A boarding facility is a place that is supposed to provide safe accommodations, meals and an environment conducive enough for studies, but to the experience of many Nigerians, boarding has turned into a place for the grooming of the good, the bad and the ugly. This also happens as parents and teachers look the other way.

Ifeoma Anijekwu, an SS1 student told Saturday INDEPENDENT that just like everything Nigerian, some bad students have added cultism and other influences. According to Ifeoma, who describes boarding as fun, “In my school, some of these students use iron hangers to beat us till it bends. I remember I was beaten and almost passed out because I allegedly disobeyed the instructions of this senior student.”

Another ex-student Kunle Anjorin, from Command Secondary School, Ipaja, Lagos also talked about the ordeal he faced back then in school. According to him, being gay was a normal lifestyle for the students. “Let’s not talk about lesbianism and homosexuality in the school, a lot of my mates were forced to become gays.”

Anna Sampson also shared her experience: “In 2000, I got admission into Government Girls Secondary School, Gombe State. It’s an all-girls school, so my parents saw it as the ideal place for me. At night using candles for sex was a normal routine. I remember the first time I saw this; I was just eleven years old and I reported to a teacher who handed me over to one of the school prefects. Big mistake as I was punished for not keeping my mouth shut.”

The President and Vice-Chancellor of Babcock University, Ilisan, Ogun State, Professor Tayo Ademola attributes the rising incidences of bullying and other vices such as the dangerous trend whereby students harass or beat up teachers to loss of value system. He expressed displeasure at the turn of events that had ruined the respect students had for their teachers and the empathy that was the hallmark of the past; saying that the societal value system has gone upside down.

“Times were when students come in contact with their teacher from a distance and run in different directions. Today students no longer run away from teachers. Now teachers are threatened and even beaten by their students. It is an indication of problems with our value system. Our value system has gone upside down. This is the time to bring value into everything we do in this country. Nigerians need to re-emphasise the place of value system.

“We value money above good deeds. I see people worshipping money over value. I believe that values are not always taught but also caught. That is why we need to show by example.”

Mrs. Chinwe Obaji, the first female education minister in Nigeria said the homes cannot be completely absolved of the type of children they throw on the society and the school to manage. “Bullying is not a recent phenomenon within Nigerian society and academia. It is an age-long thing that happens everywhere. In Nigeria, we try to copy everything and do so wrongly. Education should be beyond academic learning alone. It revolves around inculcating morality, empathy, good conduct and respect in children. The first teacher for children is the mother before the school takes over.”

Mrs. Obaji also blamed the authority for the approval of schools operating in four-bedroom and two-story buildings that are bereft of all facilities that make a child study in a more relaxed environment. In the secondary school with boarding facilities, “we lived with matrons and house masters that are available round the clock. We lived in hostels where students were well cared for. The reverse is the case today.

“Somebody will build or hire a two-storey building and tag it International School, use the same building as the hostel and sleep elsewhere. They also lacked quality teachers and leave the school at the mercy of teachers that are also engaged in other areas. Students are kept in hostels where the matrons do not know what is happening,” she emphasised.

In this age of information communication technology that provides unhindered access to all manners of websites, she said “parents defy instruction by authorities that place a ban on the use of the telephone. They buy iPhones for their wards without monitoring what they do with phones. She urged owners of schools and the government to ensure that responsible elders are put in charge of supervising the children and monitor what they do in the dormitory.

“It is wrong to put junior and senior students together in a room to avoid this type of development. It is unfortunate that school owners are only interested in collecting money. Bullying is not about killing alone. It is also about not doing what is right to gain an advantage. Illegal admission to universities is also bullying. It is bullying to circumvent admission rules and requirements by corrupt officials, Mrs. Obaji stressed.

Mrs. Folashade Ajayi, Executive Director, Life Skills Empowerment Initiative, an advocacy organisation, agreed with the former minister of education that parents are part of the problem because the character and attitudes children exhibit among their peers and in other public places speak volumes about the pattern of parenting they are exposed to at home. “As a parent, how do we train our children and what should we be doing in their presence? What do we consciously talk to them about? Most times, children learn by what they see us do as parents. How do we talk or relate with people or make corrections whenever we are wronged?

“For example, there are some parents that are harsh, wicked and maltreat their drivers, cooks and house helps. They violently kick, slap and molest them in inhuman ways. Children that are brought up in environments where this kind of inhuman behaviour is the order of the day tend to believe it is the norm and they want to do so to effect corrections.

“Such children wrongly assume it is a normal lifestyle and they want to do such things to people around them because they have been witnesses to these kinds of actions. If such children found themselves in the midst of other young people and with a little influence here and there they would do the same and ill-treat people around them without empathy,” Ajayi emphasised.

Culled from The Independent