The stage is set for academic action

On Easter Monday, schools reopened their doors for students. It was the peak season for stationery stores and banks as parents and guardians lined up in long queues to either buy scholastic materials or pay school fees. On Sunday, only BCR bank was open. This complicated the process of school fees payment as many schools insist on receiving deposit slips only. No cash or cheques are allowed. One of the BCR bank branches in town had to open past the official working hours to serve a mammoth crowd of indefatigable parents and guardians who had already jammed the bank hall. Many employees from the Public and the Private sector were probably absent from work on Monday as they had to take their children to school.Second term, according to the Ministry of Education calendar, is the longest term this year. It is 14 weeks long—almost a semester long. It is also interesting to note that it has the biggest number of local and international holidays like Labour Day, Liberation Day and Independence Day. Students’ favourite days—visiting days will be more too. These are among the few days that students receive with glee in school. Interestingly, the first visitation day comes barely a week after opening—just this coming Sunday. Many schools have earmarked the first Sundays of each month as visiting days. Important to note is the fact that students reporting to school are still commemorating the 100 days of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.Academic institutions have a daunting task of providing professional counseling and support to students who may show the slightest signs of trauma. Emotional support to such students will go a long way in tranquilizing the juvenile minds by restoring their mind states to set them in the school mood. On the other hand, this is a determining term for candidate classes that are to be examined in November this year.Having the most number of academic days, more preparations have to be done for students in readiness for national exams. For the first time, all national exams will be done in English this year. This poses a big threat to traditionally Francophone students who may not be well prepared to tackle the exams in this new language. The stage is set for academic action. It is now the turn of schools to educate and to parent. znyamosi@yahoo.com