Thefts have a negative impact on other students

Tag : alcohol
Welcoming guests, parents and students, school head Tamuhla Jorosisaid yesterday that despite its successes LSSS has seriouschallenges. "First on the list is alcohol consumption by students.It is a small number of students who partake alcohol. It looks likealcohol consumption is fashionable. Students who partake alcoholare easily detected because a person who has taken one too manydoesn't behave like a person coming from church," Jorosi said.
Another challenge faced by the school is the number of girlsdropping out due to pregnancy. He said LSSS lost 30 students, mostof them Form Fours. He disclosed that some were pregnant beforethey enrolled at his school. Jorosi decried that usually those wholeave (to go and deliver) do not perform well.It is not only thepregnancy rate that is giving Jorosi and his staff sleeplessnights. Jorosi also mentioned that theft is the order of the day atLSSS that the police are always there to help with investigations.
"Thefts, particularly at the boys' hostels, have a negative impacton other students. It causes other students immense discomfort.When your property is not safe, you are also not safe." Thisnegative trend also forces well behaved students to quit for otherschools.
Jorosi also appealed to parents to pay school fees on time. He saidsome students were extremely behind in their payments. He said heexpects all students in arrears to have paid by October 31. Jorosireminded parents that "all the economically disadvantaged" shouldseek exemption letters from the Social and Community DevelopmentDepartment."Giving them letters should not be misunderstood to meanthey were chased away from school. We don't have that authority andsuch authority rests with the Minister of Education and SkillsDevelopment Jacob Nkate."
The guest of honour and Ndino Enterprises managing director SharonMahube, applauded the school administration for coming up with thisyear's theme: "Customer/Stakeholders Participation: A Key ForAchieving Educational Excellence".
Mahube said the theme was a wake-up call to parents, the businesscommunity, government, private sector, non- governmentalorganisations (NGOs), and teachers to work together to producewell-educated individuals, "that is individuals with all theattributes" considered desirable in any citizen."Our dreams ofbecoming an informed and educated nation as envisaged in Vision2016 can only be realised when the above mentioned stakeholders allwork together for a common goal. Our children need the moralsupport of parents if we are to provide them with a conducivelearning environment. A child who comes to school distressed due tolack of parental support cannot do well in school," she said.Shesaid such a child will always find it hard to concentrate in classbecause they will spend most of the time thinking about variousproblems.
This will lead to the child losing focus and interest inschoolwork. Mahube said once a child develops a negative attitudetowards schoolwork they will not cope with the demands ofschoolwork. "Ultimately the child will fail dismally or evendropout of school."
The guest of honour, who is also a physiotherapist graduate fromManchester University in the United Kingdom (UK), noted thatteachers also need constant feedback from parents on the welfare ofthe child. This feedback, she said gives teachers a full picture ofthe child and helps to nurture the intellectual development of thechild.
Mahube stated that this could only be made possible if the parentconstantly visited the school to check on the progress of thechild."Research in developed countries has shown that schools thatenjoy strong parent/stakeholder involvement do better than thosethat do not. This relationship between the teacher, the child andthe parents can never be complete without the involvement of otherstakeholders, like government and the private sector," she said.
The youthful entrepreneur explained that the involvement ofbusiness communities in education should never be underestimated."Ndino Enterprises have always taken pride in assisting the needychildren so that they can compete on the same footing with otherchildren.
Our open door policy in assisting communities around us in times ofneed and in times of happiness have always been our priority."