PRESS RELEASE OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PROPRIETORS OF PRIVATE SCHOOLS NAPPS OVER THE VIRAL SEX VIDEO INVOLVING STUDENTS OF CHRISLAND SCHOOLS, LAGOS.
The attention of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) has been drawn to the viral sex video involving students of Chrisland schools Lagos while representing their school at the World School Games held in Dubai recently and the resulting public outcry it has since generated over the social media.
While we condemn in its entirety the act as depicted in the said video involving the minors, we appeal for caution from members of the public and enjoin them to refrain from making unsavoury comments over the issue for the sake of the mental well being of the minors involved.
Moreover, we have confidence in the ability of the police authority, the officials of ministry of education and the school authority to do the needful on the issue.
Going forward, we wish to address the issue of moral decadence in schools with a view to minimising the occurrence of issues around it.
The acts portraying moral decadence are not exclusive to schools as the issue cuts across every aspect of our society. Since children are a reflection of the society they live in, it, therefore, shows that a concerted effort will be needed to nip the malaise in the bud.
Sadly, moral decadence has eaten deep into the moral fabrics of the society and the result is what we are witnessing today in the society including our educational institutions.
Most studies show that parents are to take the larger portion of the blame for children’s behaviour, hence, parents must take a greater role in shaping their children’s future by inculcating morally acceptable behaviour in them. They must bear in mind that children’s moral development begins at home. The school is to complement their efforts.
Unfortunately, parents are shying away from this responsibility rather they prefer to shift this responsibility to the schools.
This neglect of parental responsibility from home has made it a herculean task for the school to achieve much progress. For instance, when the background of a child is already faulty and without the needed support from home to effectively collaborate with the school management to address the identified challenges, one can only imagine how such a child will turn out to be in society.
It is only effective collaboration between the school and the home that can bring out a morally rich child. It is sad to note that this much-needed collaboration has been lacking in our educational system due to societal pressure which has created a communication gap between the school and home. Parents are not usually present to monitor their children at home due to pressure from works and unending heavy vehicular traffic, expecially in the city. This make many parents leave home as early as 5am and return home from 9pm in the evening. No quality time with the children.
Given the gross reduction in moral values, parents are advised to pay special attention to the emotional needs of their children. Also, we are aware of the fact that we are in an era where the use of technological devices has become imperative to advance the course of mankind, parents must ensure that they devise a means to monitor what their children watch to restrict them from accessing adult sites at home. Some television programs, including the reality TV shows , should be properly censored by appropriate government agencies before allowing them on cable TV .
The school management must be alive to its responsibility by taking decisive actions on the issue of morally bankrupt learners in their schools without fear and favour. Appropriate and well-documented steps must be taken to deal with deviant behaviours noticed in their learners.
Every school should have a child protection policy in place and properly engage parents, staff members, students and other stakeholders on how to ensure strict adherence to the instructions contained in the policy. Technological devices used by students in schools must be restricted to ensure students are limited to educational sites only.
Parenting programmes should be organized periodically by the school authorities periodically to sensitise parents and the school on how to appropriately deal with negative issues regarding their children.
The society should pay equal attention in counselling boy child as we do for girl child. They both need to be fully guarded and provided for as they approach puberty.
More worrisome is the unabated use of substances among teenagers in primary and secondary schools. The situation is already getting out of hand. Except the relevant government agencies restrategise and double their effort in combating this ugly situation, we are all in for trouble.
*ANNOUNCEMENT TO SHUT DOWN ALL CHRISLAND SCHOOLS IN THE STATE BY LAGOS STATE GOVERNMENT*
While we are in support of the swift move by the Lagos state government to investigate the issue, we view with concern the recent announcement of the state government to shut down all branches of Chrisland Schools in the state over the said sex video.
We feel shutting down all the branches of the school might deny other children their rights to learn more and for those in the terminal classes the right to continue thier preparation for their final examinations. Equally of concern is the fact that the parents , as observed above , are not always available for the upkeep of this children. So we are disturbed about what become of this children for the period of the closure .
However, we support that Lagos State Monitoring and Supervisory committee be introduced among Chrisland Schools Management team pending the conclusion of the investigation.
We await the outcome of the government investigation on the alleged gross negligence on the part of Chrisland Schools to allow students of such age bracket sleep alone without the presence of a teacher of same sex, as well as the allegations of the school poor communication , the delayed for over a month after the incident before calling the attention of the minor’s parents to the exact issue. This will help us take informed decisions.
In conclusion, we once again commend the swift intervention of the Lagos State Government and the police by taking over the investigation of the matter . We recommend that the children involved should be taken to experts in mental health for adequate intervention and rehabilitation.
We encourage the school management and staff to be fully equipped to adequately protect learners put under their watch by not neglecting their duty of care to their learners
Equally, parents are expected to be up and doing in their role of parenting and proper monitoring. They should pay proper attention to the observations regarding their children that are coming from the school and address them quickly.
May God continue to protect our learners.
Thank you.
Chief Yomi Otubela _FCMA_
National President NAPPS.
