EduWatch criticises ‘boarding schooling’ amid indiscipline in SHSs

Africa Education Watch (EduWatch) following the viral video which captured a 2023 WASSCE graduate violently assaulting his junior in the dormitory says boarding schooling has no relevance as far as discipline is concerned.

Mr Kofi Asare, the Executive Director of the Watch in a social media post sighted by AcademicWeek said he is of the belief the only relevance of boarding schooling today is the convenience to working parents and the freebies.

The Education Policy Research and Advocacy Organization (Africa Education Watch) Director in the post furthered that “beyond that, the system has failed woefully on discipline, which used to be its major trump card.

As for the religious-ethnic & cultural mix issue, leave it to the 20th century. Gone are the days one had to travel to and live in Tamale to mix with Muslims, or Volta to mix with Ewes.

Today’s society is extremely multi-ethnic, multi-religious and cosmopolitan. There is a Zongo, kiosk city and a Despite all in East Legon.

Our children already have Muslim, Asante, Ewe, Nzema, Krobo friends at primary school.

We don’t need boarding secondary to socialize well; my best friends today are those I met at primary, not secondary.

Countries with a way higher number of ethnic groups than Ghana-Ethiopia, Tanzania etc..still run day-as-a-norm public secondary schools..and they still mix.

As far as I know, one needn’t go sleep under one roof with another to mix.

As far as I know, students who attend day SHS are never deficient in academics or socialization, compared to their boarding colleagues.

As far as I know, the cost of providing boarding secondary education is almost four times that of day secondary schooling.

The huge cost to both parents and government does not justify the outcome of indiscipline.

I am not suggesting a day student is more disciplined than a boarding one; I am saying parental responsibility is key to discipline, not boarding schools.

Day schooling allows for much more regular parental oversight of children.

Internet and social media penetration with harmful, unrestricted, unprotected content has made the boarding student even more difficult to manage today…and their managers are as helpless.”