As students from across the country breakoff for holidays, parents have been advised to ensure they don’t indulge in unproductive activities.

The call was made by Senator Dr Laetitia Nyinawamwiza while addressing hundreds of parents from Musanze District and neighbouring areas over the weekend during a graduation ceremony of 163 pupils at Excel School.

She underscored that as the holidays will particularly last for two months, children are susceptible to various risks such as teenage pregnancies and potential criminal activities.  

Nyinawamwiza who is a former Principal of University of Rwanda College of Agriculture, Veterinary and Animal Medicine (UR-CAVM) before joining the Upper House last month, said parents ought to occupy their children with some domestic works for holidays to go smoothly.

"A child while in the holidays must get involved in some work which is relatively equal to his or her capacity,” she advised.  "The children’s mind should not be pre-occupied with television content. They must rather be guided to revise their books and prepare for their next classes. This is the kind of work parents should be doing during the holidays.”

Parents welcomed the advice, stressing that the future of their children is something they do not take for guaranteed.

"It hurts to see your child losing morals yet you spend a lot on them. I agree that we (parents) should always check on our children especially when they are not with their teachers,” noted Béatrice Mukagwiza, one of the parents from Musanze District

Nathan Rulinda, the Director and Proprietor of Excel School revealed that in most cases some children return to school with bad behaviours as parents do not play their part in educating the children while in holidays.

He echoed Senator Nyinawamwiza sentiments calling on parents to regularly check on children to ensure the later do not lose morals while in holidays.

editor@newtimesrwanda.com