TEACHER TALK:More than bricks and cement

The general external and internal school environment may have a negative or positive influence on performance of students. The school compound, the pathways, the fence, the classrooms, the kitchen, the neighborhoods, even the toilets determine the performance of learners either. Unfortunately, the influence of environment on learners performance is not given due consideration and some schools operate in deplorable environments. A good school environment does not only attract teachers, but also increases learners’ attendance. A clean and beautiful environment acts as a great motivation and consequently increases a school’s general performance. On the hand, a number of schools, especially rural ones, are languishing in very poor condition without the required infrastructure. It is not only dangerous to have students study under crumbling roofs but also anti-pedagogic in essence. Let’s take Kabuga High School’s transformation as an example. Though the school today has greatly improved in terms of infrastructure and the general environment, it is still haunted by its past. It is however expected to recover with time given its present state. “Today our school is in a good environment with relatively good infrastructure. Some teachers actually had refused to teach from our former premises (in Kabuga Trading Centre) where the environment was indeed poor. The classrooms were small and the neighborhoods were the worst with shops and bars all over. What we have today is a real good teaching and learning environment, that we hope will help us to improve the general academic standard”, says Thomas Gahizi, an educationist doubling as a teacher and an administrator at Kabuga. Another neglected and yet important part of the school environment in most Rwandan schools, is the toilets. Some students, especially girls have opted to attending classes irregularly and even dropout of school, because they do not have access to sanitation. You will find that the toilet buildings are either half-constructed or too dirty to be used by any human being, let alone children. Such unhygienic conditions are not only health hazards, but also deter learners and teachers to stay in school. “We are happy that, they constructed more toilets, but they are too dirty and sometimes I hold myself until I go to home,” complains a P.5 pupil of Rwamagana Primary School. We all know that the perfect school building costs money, but we have to mobilise it, if we want keep our children in schools. The more attractive, well built and good school environment is, the better pupils/students and teachers will feel. This as a result increases not only the schools’ academic performance, but also the general discipline in school, which to, is an important prerequisite to performances. mugitoni@yahoo.com