Azubuike Ihemeje
I’ve over procrastinated to pen down this piece, long before these bullying tragedy that has been trending lately.
This is not particularly about bullying in most private schools, per set. But the facts would definitely reveal a whole lot on why bullying has become so prevalent in Private schools in such monumental proportions.
About penultimate month ago, I had an extensive discussion with one of my sons on wide range of issues and subjects. His school, one of the top elite’s private schools in Abuja dominated most of that conversation.
He expressed his deepest reservation and disappointments concerning several unwritten codes and directive principles of the schools which have eroded healthy academic competition, discipline, and have undermined morals in no little measures.
I heard for the very first time, about what they called make-Up tests or makeup examinations. I never knew that during my days.
He told him how the school apply the Makeup stuff. With the makeups arrangement, the school ensures that every single student must Pass, not just ordinary Pass but pass with excellence.
I probed further into the mischief behind that policy and learnt that it was aimed to give false impression of performance, misleading, and deceptive results, and create some sense of ‘your pikin is doing well’ to parents so as to retain the academically irredeemable students just for the huge school fees they attract.
Exorbitant fees is the main target, nothing more. All other things can be compromised at the altar of profits-making. Students are their customers.
You know the customer is always right.
The teachers can’t even talk to the students, sorry their customers in any corrective manner, lest they withdraw their patronage.
Huge fees is the business. To hell with your discipline.
There’s an unwritten code to ensure that no student goes home to their parents with poor results no matter how terrible their performance may be. This is the maggots that have eaten very deep into our educational system. It’s a culture of profiteering.
School as entrepreneurial venture. Evil!
My son informed me about how the students behave anyhow like Hoodlums during Tests, and promotional exams. They openly use their smartphone and other sophisticated devices to copy and cheat during exams. The invigilating teachers can never talk pim. If they try it, and their customers get angry, they’ll return home with damaging reviews against the school and a customer is lost.
This pampering also transcends into character building mechanism of the school. Private schools unwittingly condone bullying and other unruly behaviors from their customers. They justify it, and put up with lots of rubbish from recidivist students just to sustain profits making.
There’s reason why no child ever repeat class in private schools nowadays. Students now customers are the king in this business.
You can easily discern the reason bullying has become prevalent in private schools. You can now deduce why bullying is somewhat excused, pampered and tolerated in private schools. Academic hard-work has been compromised and murdered for financial reasons.
They place greatest premium on profits than in instilling the much needed academic discipline and morals.
The huge profiteering and money-oriented business of Private Schools is the very bane and dearth of quality education in Nigeria.
Whenever the history of the story of how education was killed and buried in Nigeria, these money-mongers private schools shall occupy a whole conspicuous position of shame.
I’ll talk about bullying proper, and how to effectively handle and deal with it without much hassles.
