Do you know what your child does after school? In several modern homes, it’s common to find children, between school hours and bedtime, sitting down and deeply engrossed in watching TV programmes that don’t add any value to their skills or aptitude.

In some neighbourhoods, it’s the time for the children to gather together and play unhelpful games like cards to while away the evening after a long day in the classrooms. 

Some children also help their parents in the shops or doing household chores among others.

However, many families now are beginning to recognise the tremendous benefits a quality after school programme can provide.

In Nyamirambo suburb of Kigali’s Nyarugenge District, Patrick Rutikanga Gisimba, a final year student of Mount Kenya University, has started a project whose mission is to offer quality after school programme to school going children in his community.

The programme, "Gisimba After School Programme,” was initiated in 2014 starting with 30 vulnerable students but the number has since exponentially grown.

Rutikanga says more parents are approaching them to enroll their children in it.

He says their main mission is to provide the students holistic approach to education and their general wellbeing, adding that the children also take part in different activities like dancing, poetry, reading and writing, painting and drawing, among others, to harness their skills in different fields.

Rutikanga says the skills students learn can range from computer, to reading and art. Some programmes also provide opportunities for community service or mentoring.

"These programmes have been shown to improve academic achievement, and relieve the stresses on their families,” he adds. Rutikanga runs his programme at Gisimba Memorial Centre in Kimisagara. The programme, he says, not only targets the orphanage but also the children around the community.

The project takes a holistic approach towards the kids’ development. It doesn’t only concentrate on educational activities but also recreational ones where the children are also involved in playing games together after school not only to improve on their health but also as a vehicle of social cohesion, he says.

There’s growing evidence, according to education experts, that children and youth attending after-school programmes not only do better in school but are also safer and less likely to get into mischief in the hours after the end of school days.

Immense benefits

Otieno Nondoh, a lecturer at University of Rwanda, says the benefits of after-school programmes are numerous and there is need for the government, school boards and communities to put forth more effort to provide programmes for all elementary pupils.

"After school programmes are significant since they help in creating safe environment for students, helping to create safer communities, helping working parents, and most significantly helping to keep children on the right path,” says Nondoh.

Nondoh adds that together with assisting in supporting positive goals, after-school programmes also reduce risky behaviour like alcohol, tobacco and drug use through providing young people with both positive and healthy alternatives.

"The after-school hours are the time that students are most likely to experiment with drugs, alcohol, and tobacco and engage in other unsafe or dangerous behaviour. When these kids have a place to go that is staffed by caring adults, they are much less likely to engage in this kind of unhealthy behavior,” says Nondoh.

Nondo observes that the middle school years are a period when children are particularly susceptible to peer pressure. 

"By simply providing them an alternative, afterschool programmes may help steer them in healthier directions,” he says.

Some parents agree on the importance of after school programmes but hasten to add that they should be programmed in such a way to allow the children time to play but not to spend their time reading.

"Children also need some time to play with their peers. This not only help them to develop physically but also provide them the opportunity to bond with their peers and form lifelong friendships and relationships,” says Epaphrodite Uwingabiye, a teacher and a mother of two.

According to an article published by Synonym, an online journal, "balancing schoolwork with extra-curricular activities can be stressful for some students, especially when an abundance of activities takes up valuable time they need to study or complete homework.”

It further says that a student’s involvement in extra-curricular activities can put stress on the whole family when parents have to rush to shepherd kids to various tightly scheduled activities. 

Busy kids also have less time to spend at home with their families, which can put a strain on familial relationships as the kids get older.

However, Uwingabiye says after-school programme is beneficial to working parents who are unable to be at home when their kids return from school.

"This is a great way to ensure children not only are kept busy but are supervised, as opposed to coming home to an empty house, or spending their weekends and school holidays just idling around the house with nothing productive to do,” she says.

Uwingabiye runs an after school initiative at Kacyiru suburb, where every evening after school, a group of over 20 students converge at her house where she not only helps them in their homework but also organises them to take part in various games together.

On the flipside, some families might find some after school programmes and activities prohibitively expensive. 

Organised sports particularly not only carry registration fees, but also normally require parents to buy expensive uniforms and equipment. Music lessons, for instance, carry expenses too, often requiring the purchase or rental of a musical instrument.

But, according to Edward Muganda, a teacher, the benefits of a quality after school programme outweigh the cost, adding that children who learn and play together after school hours don’t have time to engage in risky and unproductive behaviors and this is also helpful in their socialisation.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw