Indiscipline in Nigeria’s educational institutions (2)

“Many parents have abandoned the moral development of their children to the schools. Many parents are too busy attending to economic matters to attend to issues bothering on the welfare and development of their children. They believe that their responsibility starts and ends with the payment of tuition and the provision of such amenities like uniforms and books. Many children therefore grow up without receiving any form of moral education from their parents”

Last week, I highlighted two events which reveal without a doubt the fact that indiscipline is fast becoming a problem amongst the youth of the country and particularly in educational institutions. This week in continuation I will discuss the reasons for the prevalence of this problem and why discipline is crucial to academic pursuit.

Decline in modern times

In modern Nigeria, indiscipline is the order of the day in our educational institutions. Teachers and students alike no longer observe simple regulations designed to bring about efficient running of the school system. While in times past, teachers would frown at illicit affairs amongst their students, some teachers now engage in such illicit affairs with their students. In many institutions of higher learning cases of sexual harassment are frequent. Lecturers constantly demand sex from their female students while some students of their volition offer sex to willing lecturers in exchange for marks. On the April 9th 2016, The Punch Newspaper focusing on the problem with particular reference to a particular Federal Institution of learning reported as follows:

“There is only one option for the female students to get an A grade in their courses — sleep with the male lecturer taking the course or refuse to do so and keep failing. It’s either sex or no marks. For a male student, because he is sexually unattractive to the lecturer, the only way to bail out himself is to hire a lady who will sleep with the concerned lecturer on his behalf in order to pass the course. Sexual harassment, especially of the female students by male lecturers, is perhaps not a new thing in tertiary institutions in Nigeria and globally, with many people tagging it as the “greatest education epidemic” ever known. But in ….one of the first four federal polytechnics established in the country — in 1963 — frustrated students told our correspondent the extent some randy male lecturers go before they could pass them in their courses.

“The better ones among the lecturers give us the option of paying by cash for the course or finding a lady who will sleep with them on our behalf before we can pass. Passing a course costs us between N10,000 and N20,000,” … However, the downside to choosing to pay by cash rather than sex, according to Alex, is that the student can never get more than a C grade.

He continued, “Paying by cash is for those who want just a pass. But if I find a girl who will sleep with the lecturer on my behalf, I’ll get an A, for sure. I’ll get at least 90 per cent in the course, even if I write nothing exceptional in the exam. This option of paying with money instead of sex only comes from about one or two of the lecturers out of 10.”

As a direct result of the above, five senior lecturers and seven other workers at the Auchi Polytechnic were eventually been sacked for offences bordering on sexual harassment and extortion of female students in the school while fifteen other lecturers and one instructor were also demoted in relation to the same offences.

Furthermore, Cultism which some years back seemed to be confined to Universities and Polytechnics have now found their way into secondary schools. The result is that the violence which characterised many University Campuses are now common occurrences on the premises of secondary schools.

Nigerians of adolescent ages now regard the consumption of narcotics such as cocaine, heroin and even marijuana as nothing more than a status symbol of sorts. At parties, drugs are considered a part of the menu and freely given to those willing to accept them. Anyone who doubts this should simply visit some of the Psychiatric Hospitals to find out the number of adolescents receiving treatment for drug induced Psychosis.

Reasons for the high prevalence of indiscipline

Many reasons have been adduced for the high prevalence of indiscipline in Nigerian Schools. What I have discovered is that “many Parents have abandoned the moral development of their children to the schools. Many parents are too busy attending to economic matters to attend to issues bothering on the welfare and development of their children. They believe that their responsibility starts and ends with the payment of tuition and the provision of such amenities like uniforms and books. Many children therefore grow up without receiving any form of moral education from their parents” who as decreed by God are their first contacts with humanity. These children grow up and consider their parents to be virtual strangers. Such circumstances make them susceptible to peer pressure. This way they pick up anti-social habits. By the time the Parents realise their error it is often too late.

… To be continued.

AARE AFE BABALOLA SAN, CON