Speech and Prize Giving Day: The missing link

Emma, a Kindergarten pupil in one of the private schools in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital wailed unaccountably when his mother informed him that he won't be going for the 'End of Year' party organised by his school because of her inability to pay the levy charged for the event by the management of his institution of learning. Mama Emma has two children in the school and so decided to pay the required N2000 charged per pupil for her older son. The poor mother who felt sorry for her younger son as she couldn't help the situation decried extortion by schools through varied levies. It is now a common fad for schools particularly the private owned institutions to burden parents with miscellaneous levies both hidden and tagged charges outside the school fees. Parents are made to pay 'emergency' levies at various times for different events and activities in the course of a term.

Aside the levy, these parents are made to pay for the so called End of Year (session) party, the colouration the event assumes in recent time leaves much to be desired. It seems schools are out to outdo themselves in the organisation of this 'party;' the higher the levy the more the varieties (social though). I had the opportunity of attending a number of such events organised by schools in Ilorin in recent time and to say I was miffed by the programme contents is to say the least about the way I felt about the events.

It made me to reminisce on my school days when Speech and Prize Giving Day, as ours was tagged was; an occasion dreaded by pupils lacking in intellectual proficiency. A day of sober reflection. It was a celebration of the children's achievements and efforts across a wide range of disciplines. A Day of the 'Firsts' and 'Lasts'. Days when brilliant pupils walk with their shoulders high while those who performed below standard walk with their tails between their thighs. It was a day of reckoning. Proud parents would be seen grinning from ear-to-ear while those whose children did not clinch any award would wear stoic countenance which belies their disspiritedness. Children of such parents would have their hearts in their mouth knowing the fate that would befall them back home.

At the same time, parents looked forward to the occasion as it gave them insight to the quality of education their children accessed in individual schools. The event are packed full with class to class presentations both educative and entertaining . The ceremony also featured debates, career guide, oratory presentation, poem recitation, drama, cultural display etcetera. High point of the occasion was the award of prizes to the best students in academics. This served as an impetus for other pupils to sit up in order to ascend to the honours roll. It encouraged competitiveness among pupils.

But, that has ceased to be in recent time, the End of Year party in schools has turned to a dance hall party with Disc Jockeys dishing out contemporary hip hop music and pupils displaying the latest dance steps in the full glare of the audience which include their proprietors, teachers, parents and invited guests. They dance to lewd music in the name of choreography.

The essence of the event has been overtaken by social activities; it has been turned to a funfare of sort with the school staffers clad in aso-ebi like it is a sort of social function (owambe). Perhaps the aso-ebi for teachers was purchased from the levies paid by the pupils. Food and drinks are supplied in abundance.

Awards are given to best dancers who get more applause from the audience than the child who excelled academically. Mediocrity is celebrated while academic excellence is relegated to the background. Agreed, all work and no play makes jack a dull boy, but the essence of hardwork in academics is lost on today's pupils. Education is critical to a child's success in life and this must be ingrained in the hearts of these children. They should be made to feel the pangs of failure so that they can appreciate success. Academic success should be celebrated to the high heavens as the moral lesson therein is that hardwork pays and need be rewarded. This trend one need to say is counterproductive and as such should be stopped. The school is expected to bring each pupil to his/her individual, maximum academic potential. This is what school proprietors should have at the back of their minds and not derail from this objective. Therefore the prize giving day should be made sacrosanct.

However, the continuous extortion of parents and guardians by private schools is indeed a dangerous trend which must be checked in the interest of the children and the education sector.

Schools will resume for another session in September and parents have already been notified of increase in fees. This, they justified by the current economic realities.

It is unfortunate that the proprietors fix and increase fees arbitrarily, even when there is little or nothing to show for such exorbitant fees and levies. Little wonder many people today see schools as one of the most lucrative businesses. They devise different means of exploiting parents. It is hightime concerned authorities looked into this anomaly. Greedy school proprietors should not be allowed to milk parents dry. There is a need for sustained control of government over private schools; there should be routine checks

The Ministry of Education cannot stand by and watch some greedy proprietors, milk parents dry in this state. The concerned Ministry should provide the needed control. There should be routine checks and thoroughly supervision of what goes on in these schools.

Parents on their part should resist all forms of exploitation by these institutions of learning. The Parents Teachers Association (PTA), of each school should be able to agree on and approve whatever levies and fees to be paid by the pupils. These efforts would go a long way in curbing this anomaly.

In conclusion, we need to go back to the old ways of doing things to get it right.

#standpoint