Public schools belong to the government as much as they belong to the people. This is a critical message, which school authorities should preach with no lack of effort. Parents and students always demonstrate enthusiasm and zeal to give their best love and energies to a school that loves them and has successfully created a true spirit of collective ownership.
A feeling of common ownership creates a formidable bond between the school and community, building an environment in which educators and the community, in which the school is built, collectively take responsibility for all that is happening in a school. Progress is delayed when time is invested in trading accusations. Sometimes educators may rightly or wrongly accuse parents of overburdening them with ‘home’ issues that could be handled better at home and parents too could feel very much let down by teachers of their children in some respects.
The student indiscipline could be traced back at home to dysfunctional family settings in particular or to a sick society in general. But at the same time, a school environment, which does not sufficiently challenge and encourage students to reach their potential, could provide a fertile ground for the rise and escalation of student disciplinary issues. It really takes two to tango. Playing the blame game when things go wrong in a school cannot carry anyone anywhere. The blame game offers no solution to problems at hand. It can only harden attitudes while creating a perpetual spirit of conflict and sowing the seeds of mutual mistrust. It is better for all stakeholders, united and bound by their mutual love for the children under their care to engage one another in a give and take environment. Mutual respect brings about a common understanding of issues at stake. One of the common problems bedevelling schools is vandalism. It could be argued that vandalism could be caused by failure on the part of parents to instil in their children a sense of pride, love and respect for their surroundings. What is not fixed at home can also subsequently resurface and find expression at school.
From the school side, it also makes sense to say that a school, failing to implement a robust teaching regimen or ensuring all learners are purposefully occupied with appropriate tasks matching their individual cognitive skills can open a wide avenue for discipline issues. Learners who are victims of benign neglect or feeling unwanted or less occupied generally crave attention. An idle mind is the devil’s workshop. In their quest for attention, idle learners could display anti-social demeanours such as bullying other students, disobeying school rules, which may include involvement in graffiti or defacement of school property. Graffiti, breaking of windows, chairs and desks are common occurrences in schools. It is common to find inscriptions like ‘Sadam was here’ on school walls. This is more often done by neglected, chronically low achieving students who are craving for recognition. High achieving students are rarely involved in damaging and defacing school property and equipment. Due to the rampant culture of vandalism and limited maintenance allocations over the years, today, schools are in a state of disrepair. The rot in schools did not befall us in one single day. This challenge came upon us over a long period of time, and it has now become part of an entrenched negative school culture. An overnight and quick fix may not be possible. But we all agree in unison that something urgent should be done to bring back the schools to normalcy.
This is because no one desires to see our children being taught in an environment far from ideal. We all desire what is best for our children. Fixing the broken and dilapidated schools would not take place without causing a serious dent to the national treasury. Parents should do their bit by reorienting their children to respect school property and should be ready to take responsibility when their own children are facing charges of malicious damage to school property. Of course, generally, the government naturally assumes the role of singlehandedly taking responsibility to fix what students break in the school.
The costs for attempting to repair everything and everywhere may be prohibitive given the extent of the damage caused across the length and breadth of the country. Under the prevailing financial circumstances, it might be prudent to pick and choose areas that should assume precedence. Moving the economy to a much more diversified and knowledge-based stage requires high grades in sciences, mathematics, and other practical oriented subjects. To achieve this end, priority could be placed on refurbishment of science, design and technology, home economics, and other practical oriented subjects. The process of maintaining schools should be accompanied by a change of culture in schools. A culture of negativity should give way to one of positivity. It must be noted that school governance plays a critical role in the safeguarding and preservation of school property. I once visited a school, and the one pleasant surprise in the school was that all windows remained intact. Well governed schools, which place students at the epicentre of what they do, hardly experience serious problems of vandalism.
But, poorly governed schools where students do not have a sense of ownership of the schools are prone to high incidences of ill discipline, which may manifest themselves in vandalism. Parents should also at least meet the government halfway when a case of wanton destruction to school property has been made. Members of the school community should exercise a high degree of vigilance in order to contain vandalism. Students do better when they know that there are consequences for misconduct and when they very much feel a sense of ownership towards their school. No school management should create an impression of being the sole proprietor of a school it is privileged to manage. Students should not be left out of management because any feeling of student disengagement and marginalisation can break a school.