Head teachers urged to address indiscipline

Eastern province Governor Odette Uwamaliya has challenged school administrators to address indiscipline, particularly in day schools.Uwamaliya, who was yesterday speaking at a meeting about issues affecting education in the province, said some schools exhibited low levels of discipline, adding that stakeholders were duty bound to reverse it.“We set up a special committee to assess and address issues of indiscipline, particularly pregnancies in schools. Some culprits were identified and punished. Stakeholders should pick up from where we reached,” she said.The meeting attracted head teachers, district education officers, vice mayors and other partners.An investigative committee was, in January, set up after it was reported that pregnancy rates in secondary schools, mainly in Rwamagana district, was alarming.Emmanuel Uwizeye, the head teacher of Nsinda Secondary School, where some students were reported pregnant, was indefinitely suspended.Uwamaliya said teachers should educate students on reproductive health to avoid unnecessary pregnancies.Anicet Ndazigaruye, the head teacher of Kabare Secondary School in Ngoma district, blamed the challenge of day schools for some cases of ‘indiscipline,’ saying students walk long distances to and fro schools, which expose them to advances from men.“Most pregnancies are reported in schools. It is not good for girls to walk long distances because men begin to plot ways to lure them into sex,” she said. “They meet wrong characters; taximen give them lifts, others give them money. We need a holistic approach to this issue.”Jane Kabatesi, who represented parents at the meeting, admitted there is laxity on the part of some parents.“It is true that parents no longer take care of their children as it is supposed to be. It all stops when they send them to school. Yet, school teachers can’t go beyond school environment,” she said.PerformanceSchools in the province were, however, commended for their excellent academic performance in successive years.Mathias Harebamungu, the Minister of State for Primary and Secondary Education, who attended the meeting, acknowledged that the general performance in the province was good.He said the Nine and 12-Year Basic Education schools were doing well, despite negative public perception.

National

Head teachers urged to address indiscipline