Lagos public school students shun resumption

The turn-out of students was low in Lagos public primary and secondary schools on Monday, the resumption day for the new academic term. The resumption date was just three days after the New Year celebrations, which was said to have caused majority of the students to stay away from school. As a result of the poor turnout, learning could not take place.

At St. Peter's Anglican Nursery and Primary School, Ikeja where there was a large turn-out of teachers, only about 20 pupils were present.

A primary six pupil, Waliyat Jubril, spent just three hours in school; only two of them had showed up in a class of 36 pupils. "We only played, swept the classroom, cleaned the windows and prayed with our teachers," said the 12-year-old pupil. "Since the teachers didn't want to teach us because we were not many, they allowed us to go home after sometime."

It was a similar situation at Ojodu Junior and Senior Grammar School, also in Ikeja, where the teachers only urged the few students present to engage in reading, rather than play around, coupled with pleas to notify their colleagues about the resumption date.

Parents are to blame

Some of the teachers also blamed parents for over-indulging their children by keeping them at home. "After all, these children are at home with their parents", they said. According to the teachers who spoke to NEXT, teaching a handful of students present would mean repeating the lesson when other students finally return to school.

"This has always been the tradition; the students don't usually come on the first day of resumption," said a teacher at the school, who spoke under the condition of anonymity. "Even when their resumption does not come immediately after a major celebration, like the New Year, they won't start coming until Wednesday; but now, with the New Year mood still on, I don't think we will be seeing them till next week."

The above was corroborated by some of students themselves. According to Kudirat Alabi, a pupil of Anwar-ul-Islam Primary School, Agege, her failure to resume on Monday was partly because of the celebrations that just ended.

"I will not go to school this week, I will go next week (next Monday); I know (that) even if I go this week, we will not work," said Master Alabi.

Another student, Funmilayo Folorunso of Oregun Junior High School, Ikeja, said she had been confused by some of his colleagues on her way to school on that day.

"Some of my friends told me in the morning that resumption is on the 11th and not on Monday (January 4), so I did not bother to go again. Later, I heard again that schools were resuming today (January 4)," she said.

However, her mother, who refused to disclose her name, refuted the claim that parents condone laziness in their children. She said her children would be in school the following day. "I allowed them to stay at home because I was told that their colleagues informed them that schools are to resume next week," she said. "If not, I would not have allowed them."