Govt tasks administrators on discipline, morals in schools

THE Federal Government has urged school administrators in the country to always strive to impart discipline and sound morals in their students and teachers for the overall good of the society.

Minister of Education, Mr Ibrahim Shekarau, who gave the advice at a meeting with principals of unity schools in Abuja recently said that schools were not just about academics, but were vehicles for instilling moral values in students.

The minister noted that school administrators, their teaching and non-teaching staff must themselves be disciplined in order to be able to impart sound morals and discipline in schoolchildren.

“It is important that the school administrator and his teaching and non-teaching staff must be self-disciplined otherwise they will inevitably lose the right to discipline others because they are immediate role models for their children.

“Some administrators and their teachers who are morally, professionally and academically bankrupt cannot truly win the respect of their students,” the minister stated adding that to enthrone discipline in schools, effective teaching must be assured.

“And to ensure effective teaching, provision of qualified teaching staff, equipment and materials must be assured. Regular and effective supervision of teachers must be ensured, he stated.

The former national president of All Nigeria Conference of Principal of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS) continued, “Another prerequisite for good relationship in the school is effective communication.

This means keeping both the teachers and the students well informed of what is happening with regards to the policies programmes, plans and problems of the school.”

In her remarks, the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Viola Onwuliri, lamented the rate at which Nigerian children are abandoning their indigenous languages for foreign languages, saying this trend was tantamount to self-enslavement.

Onwuliri who stressed that most Nigerians were neglecting their indigenous languages in preference for foreign languages, noted that the development was not in the best interest of the country.

She warned principals of the school against extortion or imposition of unauthorised levies on students, noting that offenders would be sanctioned. She disclosed said that the Federal Government would not condone any corrupt practices by the principal.