There was a time when schools literally closed for the holidays and learners went home to refresh and enjoy holidays.
These were days when visiting relatives in rural areas and towns was something to look forward to.
Parents, grandparents, uncles, aunties, friends and other kith and kin would reconnect after four or so months of separation. Parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles would feed their visiting children and grandchildren with traditional customs and values meant to make sure that children grew up knowing what was good and what was bad. These were days when every child was everyone’s child.
Holiday time, was really holiday time and there were no holiday or extra lessons then. In fact there was what was called Exit weekend a short mid-term break when schools offered learners a two day midterm break. Come examination time schools would record very high percentage pass rates in the highly rated Cambridge exams. It was also very common then for Junior Certificate holders to train to be teachers and other careers they so desired.
The coming in of Holiday and Extra lessons has ushered in new challenges for some children. Institutions offering these lessons range from very well organized schools both public and private to one room and under tree set ups. While all these aim to help improve learners’ chances of getting good grades, but sometimes what really happens on the ground is far from what is expected.
One only needs to move around the ghettos to see some of the chaotic scenes unfolding there as children move from location to location looking for one subject teacher to another. Cases abound of learners crowding up at selected places to take drugs and engage in sex orgies which are fertile grounds for HIV infections. Drug and sexual abuse amongst young learners and other adults is now very common resulting in new HIV infections.
Holiday and Extra lessons need to be closely monitored to make sure that children learn under safe environments. I also think that government should reserve one holiday that is free from holiday and extra lessons so that children get to mingle with their kith and kin be it in the rural areas or towns. The current set up where children are always in school mode is breaking up family relationships as children now grow up not knowing their relatives.
I also suspect the reason why grandparents now die much earlier than before is due to the fact that there’s no longer that interaction between them and their grandchildren. The interaction between grandparents and children helped the elderly to act young hence adding more years to their lives. Grandparents also gave advice on good and responsible life styles to the young. Most of today’s children no longer value good moral values leading to early deaths which could be avoided.
Piason Maringwa
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