Why schools must intensify sex education, others – Stakeholders

It is no longer news that both public and private schools in Lagos State resumed for the third term session on Monday, April 25.

On Monday, April 18, the news of a 10-year-old student of Chrisland School filled the air, causing anxieties among many parents about the well-being of their children even with the supposedly best hands.

Before then, on November 28, 2021, Sylvester Oromoni (Jr) was alleged to have succumbed to injuries sustained at the hands of some of his co-students at Dowen College, Lekki- Lagos.

In December 2021, an 11-year-old male student of the Deeper Life High School in Uyo in Akwa Ibom State was alleged to have been sexually assaulted by his female teacher.

Records abound of undisciplined dispositions found in many of Nigeria’s secondary schools in recent days.

On October 27, 2021, a teacher was beaten up by students for attempting to stop an attack on a female student at the Itori Comprehensive High School, Itori, Ogun State.

In Ibadan, Oyo State, a mother, Mercy Johnson, allegedly took thugs to the school on November 26, 2021, to beat up teachers

Similarly, a student of senior secondary school 3, identified as Michael Ogbeise, was reported to have beaten his teacher, Ezeugo Joseph, to death in Delta State for flogging his younger sister.

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With recent developments in many private schools, stakeholders are beginning to grow grey hairs over the moral and learning safety of their children in private schools.

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Williams Omaka the Parents-Teachers-Association (PTA) chairman of Rona Kings and Queens Schools in Jakande Estate, Oke-Afa Isolo disclosed that the parents of the school would want the management to tighten up their monitoring efforts to ensure that nothing is taken for granted in ensuring a total child upbringing.

Omaka however traced the blame for immoral acts to parents.

“70percent blame for most children’s immoral tendencies can be traced to their parents. Hence, the teachers can only help what the parents started.

Besides, government policy of which do not allow teachers to discipline a child is weakening the ability of teachers curb students ill-tendencies,” he said.

The PTA leader enjoined other private schools to be up and doing as regards effective monitoring of children while under their custody.

Favour Onyebuenyi, one of the PTA executives of the Seed of Messiah School at Ilamoshe Estate who spoke with BusinessDay said the body of parents would want the school management to intensify its efforts toward sex education and morals.

“The school authority should emphasise sex education much more to the children. Besides, there should be proper monitoring of the companies these children keep while in school, hence, there should be close circuit television (CCTV) gadgets to checkmate movements in and around schools,” she said.

Friday Erhabor, a parent is worried that with what is happening in schools these days, the schools should have in place measures to monitor daily occurrences within their premises.

“With what is happening in our private schools, Lagos State government should not only be interested in issuing licenses. They should strengthen regulation framework on private schools and enforce decency,” he said.

For Victoria Duru, the lead consultant of Knowledge-to-Skills Advisors, schools should engage parents and other stakeholders in regular meetings to fashion out lasting approaches to making an impact on the school children.

“The era of only mothers raising children while the fathers are far off or even a situation where both parents are busy chasing shadows must as a matter of urgency stop,” she said.

She advocated that schools should also engage the services of counselors/psychologists to help address the issues of morals and character building.

However, in the face of recent developments within and around schools, some private schools are beefing up their security alertness and gadgets to ensure the safety and moral well-being of the students.

According to Olusola Majiyagbe, a staff of Graceville Schools in Ikeja, “We have a security team from Scott-yard organisation. Apart from that, we have CCTV around our compound and outside.

Majiyagbe explained that the school makes sure all cars that drop and pick up the children enter the school compound for proper identification. All our students have their pick-up cards. And no student can get out of the compound without his/her pick-up card.”

For Multiconcepts International School in the Isheri suburb of Lagos, the management has a system in place that ensures that as soon as all students are in the school compound the gate must be locked and no student is allowed to leave the school till closing time.

According to Bola Olarenwaju, a staff, “No parent is allowed to send anyone to pick their ward without a call to the principal. Being a secondary school, we do not allow students to stay around after closing hour, they must go home straight.”