Izuchukwu OkosiThe video of the 12 year old boy, Sylvester Oromoni jnr who was bullied and beaten to death at Dowen College Lagos, by a group of fellow students has elicited widespread condemnations and rightly so.
Only on Saturday, the Management of the school offered their commiserations to the deceaced’s family after a public outcry.
The numerous negative stories from boarding schools is a sad commentary of what boarding schools ought to be.
In time past, the boarding schools especially those owned by the government and religious institutions are regarded as an extension of the homes where discipline is enforced.
We had such things as ‘School Father or School Mother’ which was a representation of the families in distant places. ‘Brothers and sisters from another mother’ as people tend to describe such relationships nowadays.
One critical reason people send their wards to the boarding schools is because they are rather too busy to attend to their needs.
It could also be as a result of family strife and so the children are kept away from the prying eyes of ‘enemies within’ really.
But whatever are the reasons, it doesn’t justify what has happened or has been happening in public schools.
Conversely, there is need to also listen to the boarding schools and indeed the day schools to get their own perspectives.
A school owner based in Ikorodu area of Lagos, Emmanuel Oki told Prime Business Africa:
“That is what u get when acts of indiscipline has been enshrined into the school curriculum.
” You can’t scold them! You can’t spank them! You can’t shout at them!
“Money is now a training tool. The day of harvest awaits every parent.”
The above assertion of a teacher and school owner is thought provoking. Is it true that schools these days are not able to also train the children and are often warned to desist from correcting their pupils?
Is money really a problem that prevents the schools from making positive impacts in the lives of the children?
While there is need to ensure control by the teachers as they discharge their roles, it beggars the question of the integrity of the parents and guardians who make such demands.
We all have to wait a bit patiently for investigations on this latest issue to be rounded off by the Nigeria Police Force before making the verdicts but there is need to find a lasting solution to child bullying in the boarding schools.
Prime Business Africa learnt that the parents of the boys who committed the crime has flown their wards abroad in a bid to escape justice.
While more developments are expected, this singular action if true, should be a punishable offence.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
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