It is a parent’s sole responsibility to ensure that his or her child grows up into a responsible and fulfilled citizen. This role cannot be delegated to anyone else.
By Frank Obonyo
A mysterious fire that took seven lives after burning a school dormitory of Kasaana Junior Primary School in Nyendo-Mukugwe Division in Masaka City is a wakeup call to ban nursery boarding schools.
According to media reports, seven pupils aged between 4-6 died; and 11 others, including the matron were injured. The October 30, 2023, tragedy was allegedly caused by a spark from the matron’s mobile phone.
This is not the first time that children have died in schools due to fire outbreaks. The Police reported that 17 of 40 schools that caught fire across the country between January 5, 2022 and June 27, 2022, were burnt deliberately. Private schools are more likely than public schools to experience these fire incidents. Could there be foul play due to competition among schools? Why do government schools register fewer cases of fire outbreaks? Is there something deeper that needs to be investigated?
The Police also cite the use of illegal electronic gadgets by students. I studied in government schools for all my primary and secondary education, and we were never allowed to bring electronic items.
One of the rules that the schools had and I believe government schools still maintain is not permitting children to school with electronic gadgets like radios, phones, electric kettles, flat irons etc.
This is different with private schools that are mainly business driven. Children in most cases have more liberty to do whatever they want with very minimal restrictions. Little wonder, these fire outbreaks are mostly in privately owned schools.
This brings me to my second thought. It is so sad that we lost these young, promising and beautiful Ugandans. May their souls rest in peace, and I console with their parents because losing a child is one of the worst experiences for a person.
However, there is a growing culture in Uganda, especially among the working and career-focused parents who take their children as early as three years to boarding schools. No matter which part of the world, children need parents.
It is a parent’s sole responsibility to ensure that his or her child grows up into a responsible and fulfilled citizen. This role cannot be delegated to anyone else. The school will ensure that children learn how to read and write but the individual interaction with a child is best done by a parent. Preparing children for adulthood is the overall responsibility of a parent.
I appreciate that both parents have to work and pursue careers to meet the economic needs of their families. However, in the midst of this crave for success and accumulation of fame, power, wealth and comfort; we need to remember that parents have a God-given responsibility that is to raise children according to God’s purpose.
Parents are best suited for the role of unconditional love and presence. Raising children can be challenging, and it comes with difficult times; however, when your relationship is rooted in love and presence, you have a bond that remains strong and can bring you together any time you disagree and argue.
Finally, the Ministry of Education and Sports needs to develop a policy against setting up nursery boarding schools. It is the government that licenses and is supposed to supervise the operation of these schools.
While most of these infernos break out, the district education office does not carry out effective monitoring and evaluation of how these challenges can be remedied. The Ministry needs to stop granting permission to schools that have plans of setting up boarding schools for children as young as age 4.
Parents: Keep your babies home longer. Hold them tight. Government: Curb the initiation of nursery schools. Schools: Reserve electronic devices for academic use by older students. As October ended, an adult’s phone sparks were being blamed for a tragedy, but the layers of current and future responsibility go deep.
The writer is Senior Public Relations Officer, Law Development Centre.