A recent picture of crumbling structures of a prominent primary school in the outskirts of Suva has sent shivers down our spine.
The level of decay and neglect is simply unbelievable.
In my childhood, we were taught that schools are temples of learning. They are our alma mater, and an appropriate sense of respect must be accorded to teachers and ancillary staff and the school property.
Our days began with greetings such as
“Good morning Sir, or Good morning, Madam,” and children greeted each other with broad smiles, giggles and laughter as they disembarked from school buses or family cars. Such simple etiquette brought so much happiness and camaraderie. Children were eager to do their duties, and prefects and duty teachers ensured that the interior and the exterior of the school were kept neat and clean. School gardeners maintained the school flower gardens.
Children were taught good manners such as saying ‘thank you’ or walking in lines on one side of the corridor, or washing hands before eating and brushing teeth after eating or washing hands after visiting the toilets.
They were taught to respect books and other school equipment in the laboratory or the computer room, etc. This enabled children to form good reading and learning habits with joy.
The day began with a school prayer and religious teachings were compulsory so that children could learn vital societal values. Prayers and verses were memories which lasted a lifetime.
These enabled the schools to produce well educated and well characterised students who became valuable members of our society.
But look what transformation has taken place with human and child’s rights. The sense of reverence and respect has gone out the window. Dishonesty and misbehaviour cannot be punished. School counsellors and religious teachers have been removed from the school system. Other teachers are helpless spectators and at the first opportunity resign to migrate or find another job. Teaching and learning has become a farce!
School managements have been reduced to mere puppets. Their powers have been usurped by the Ministry of Education and the school management has no say in who can be the head of their school.
The Ministry of Education claims they pay the teachers and provide funds for capital development and therefore they call all the shots. It is this attitude that has led to the current state of affairs. No one seems to bother about the school structures where 900 students receive education.
We must stop and ponder whether we are doing the right thing for our children. No use crying that there is too much drug trafficking in schools or there are too many teenage pregnancies or too much of STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease) or utter lack of respect for teachers and parents. We have to ensure that our schools remain the temple of learning and not a place of wokeism experimentation. Stop the rot now!
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