We have been seeing many problems of indiscipline from students for quite long, and nothing much is done to check it. The kind of indiscipline I’m talking about has greatly affected the general performance of students at all levels. In some instances, parents have gone as far as contemplating if it is worthwhile to send a child in school. They do not see anything important offered by those schools in terms of academia and morality. So, our question is what makes a school a school? The classic definition says that “it is an institution for the instruction of children or people under college age”. Nevertheless, I believe a school is more than that, it is a special environment designated for a special purpose to change people’s behaviour. For a school to qualify for the name therefore, it must have some important qualities. I can only mention but a few:One, it must be properly located to accommodate not only important building but also playgrounds. But what happens is that some schools are built as if they are shops, with very little space, while others are built in swamps. “When we want to play football, we walk kilometres to a playground that belongs to the sector. By the time you reach there you are already too tired to play,” complained Kabera John, a senior one student in Kigali. Two, a school must be fenced and guarded to protect the students and their properties. Three, it must be well administered. School systems often leave students on his or her own. At a very dangerous age are free to run riot. The tragedy is further compounded by the fact that, school administrators live far from the schools. “I only have to be at school during the day and then leave someone on duty to take care of the students,” said one James (not his real name) who is a secondary school headmaster. You will hear people praising schools under the administrations of nuns. The secret is that they use tough discipline. Look at Lycees de Rwamagana and Notre Dame de Citron in Kigali, they have been topping performance league tables, because the students are highly disciplined. Conversely, look at the record of discipline in schools performing poorly. We do not need to name them, but their discipline reflects their performance. You cannot escape the cause and effect between discipline and performance in schools. Continues next Sunday mugitoni@yahoo.com
