Don’t scrap boarding system in schools
For a significant number of students, boarding is a necessity due to distance from suitable schools or the need for closer monitoring and bonding.
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For other students, attending boarding school is informed by choice and access to greater educational resources.
Some educationists have proposed the scrapping of the boarding system as a major step in curbing indiscipline in secondary schools.
A former Rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Professor Stephen Adei, and a former Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, Professor Kwasi Opoku-Amankwa, contended that the rationale for the introduction of the boarding system at the pre-colonial time to date had outlived its relevance.
However, a professor in educational leadership and a former Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, Prof. George Oduro, thinks otherwise, and believes that "the boarding system is not the problem; rather the problem is our failure to ensure that the SHS system operates and promotes discipline as it should.
In fact, the challenges in our schools today is not whether to scrap boarding schools or reinforce the concept to community day schools.
The problem is how to curb the growing culture of indiscipline in our schools whether day or boarding.
These days, hardly a day passes without reported incident of indiscipline in our educational institutions, thus making calls for the scrapping of boarding schools grow louder as a solution to curbing deviance in schools.
The challenge is that school authorities have relaxed some of the disciplinary rules to the extent that schools cannot freely enforce discipline due to human and child rights issues.
The Daily Graphic holds the view that the boarding system is a fabric of our education, which must be preserved because not all communities have day schools where students can walk in for academic lessons.
Scrapping the boarding system will put students, who are from communities without secondary schools, at a disadvantage because they will have to walk long distances to school.
Indeed, boarding schools are home to vibrant and diverse communities of students from all over the country, exposing them to different cultures, beliefs, and viewpoints.
This exposure helps students develop cultural competency, an essential skill for effective leadership in today's globalised world.
In fact, the pillars of diversity, equity and inclusion outweigh all other perks for choosing a day school over the traditional boarding schools.
While the educational experience at the boarding school is important for personal, educational growth and development, it is also a precursor to life after school.
It is the view of the Daily Graphic that the boarding system is the most preferred choice for some parents, especially those who are of the opinion that the system has the advantage for their children, to build social maturity, personal growth, make them academically independent and help with peer learning.
However, recent developments in boarding schools in the country have triggered outrage in society and are making many people have second thoughts.
Aside from academic performance, which many schools flaunt, issues of supervision, conduct, abuse, moral rectitude and bullying have dominated the media space.
It is, therefore, the view of the paper that the boarding system should not be scrapped but given a comprehensive overview.
To ensure that the boarding system operates well, qualified personnel, who have been trained in being housemasters/home mistresses, are employed by schools to run activities in the hostels and dormitories.
We must also ensure that there is strict monitoring and supervision in our boarding schools to ensure that the environment is conducive to learning.
