By Denis Jjuuko
You are invited for the school day on Thursday from 10.00am. Dear parent, thank you for the great work. You are reminded that tomorrow is class visitation day at 3.00pm. On Saturday, the school will be holding the parents talk. We have lined up a great panel. Next week is sports day. On Friday, we shall hold our parents-teachers interaction event. Please come with your child. The Parents Teachers Association Meeting will be held on Monday from 11.00am. This Sunday, we shall be holding the school Founder’s Day. Rev Jjuuko and his wife, Lay Canon, will be leading the prayers.
On Saturday, we shall be dedicating the candidates. Prayers will commence at 10.00am in the main hall. On Tuesday, we shall be holding a party for all the candidates who finished their exams. Give your child Shs10,000 for a special samosa and Shs50,000 for a group photo. Visitation day is on Sunday for Senior Four and the week after will be our school drama day. The weekend after will be visitation day for Senior Two students. Then Prom!
If you have a child in school in greater Kampala, you have probably received all those messages or more in a single academic term. If it is not the school sending you messages or letters about such events, it is the child asking you to attend their school assembly or parade.
Times have really changed. My parents and guardians were never even once asked to come see me at a school assembly or parade. I don’t remember them being invited to school so teachers can take them through my exercise books. In fact, during my time, if they asked you to bring your parent or guardian, you know you were in trouble. Not these days of parents casually walking into a classroom to interact with the teachers over absolutely nothing. I mean, I am not a teacher, what am I going to do about my child’s bad handwriting? Like knock the knuckles out? Shouldn’t that be the teacher’s responsibility to guide him on how to write better?
But Kampala schools don’t want to know. They will invite you at every single opportunity for all sorts of things. How many times should parents and guardians visit schools? How do you get involved in your child’s academics and still hold a job when every random day there is something that needs your presence? Something as mundane as a school assembly or some drama practice.
Then endless visitations. If I come to visit my child in Senior Five, why can’t I see the child in Senior One as well? But no, each class must have its visitation day. Then some schools have more than one visitation a term. Something needs to give. Parents can’t be in schools all the time checking on this or that or attending one meeting after another.
If you live or work near some of these big schools, it is a nightmare the day the school has such events. The Uganda middle and elite class parents drive like they don’t care, creating multiple lanes everywhere. Traffic jam becomes the order of the day. The hapless traffic cops try and then they are reminded by those breaking the rules if they know who they are dealing with.
Can’t schools think of other ways? Like allowing a parent or guardian to visit their child once a term over the weekend or any day outside class hours. This would mean no dedicated visitation days. But you only visit once a term. Once you arrive at the gate, they check the student you have come to visit and tick off the name. You won’t be allowed to visit again unless there is a medical emergency or something similar.
There should also be a limit to how many hours a parent or guardian will spend in the school. School visitations shouldn’t be picnics where kids sit, eat some fried chicken while a parent is playing music on a boom box. Visit the child and leave within an hour so the kids can go back to their lives.
Dedication events for candidates shouldn’t be fashion shows. I mean, why should a kid in Primary Seven have extension hairs, stilettos and flowing gowns for a prayer event? Are candidate dedications replacing the extravagant proms? It seems to be the case.
Schools should concentrate on educating the kids entrusted with them and don’t make their campuses a gathering of parents every week for stuff that don’t add much value to learners.
The writer is a communication and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com
