Civic Obligation

On Monday, 7 September 2009, the doors of classrooms will once again be flung open to pupils and students in search of knowledge. Once again parents would be wondering how fair they have been to those under their care, and teachers faced with the task of starting off with what should yield positive results at the end of school year.

What does this imply? The answer is obvious: Students and pupils, teachers and parents, proprietors of educational institutions and Parent ?? Teacher Associations, all face the task of contributing to the kind of results expected at the end of the school year. Such contributions by parents, teachers, school proprietors and government authorities are expected to be regular, prudent and rational with a sense of civic responsibility. For, without such focus on the ingredients of security and success, those in school cannot study effectively and end up with good results. While this kind of support by guardians and proprietors is crucial to the learning process, it is important to note that effective teaching and good results at the end of a school year also depend on positive response by those in school. For, hard work by students who aim at good results begins on the first day at school, at the start of the first term. Professional teachers aware of this academic dictum commit themselves to effective teaching immediately schools reopen, and sustain their stance throughout the year. They teach with a concern for the future of the young compatriots entrusted to them for moral and academic upbringing. This indeed is a moral obligation that cannot be taken lightly by responsible citizens in the teaching field. Parents on their part must be responsible enough, not to wait for their children to be sent out for school fees or text books before they are provided what is needed. They are expected to provide these needs before schools reopen. Regrettably, uncooperative and irresponsible parents are the first to complain bitterly whenever end-of-year results are poor. While it is not abnormal to blame teachers for bad results, it is irrational to ignore the other causes which range from poor working conditions of teachers, to inadequate and dilapidating infrastructure. It is important, and indeed an obligation to consider seriously the comfort and security of children in school. For, without this, it is possible for them to lose not only what took them to school, but also their lives. The recent deaths of some 12 female students in Tanzania, when a dormitory caught fire and the collapse of a school building in Douala are painful incidents to recall. But the main cause of such calamities can be averted through coordinated action by parents, teachers, and school proprietors who must always provide solid, and well ?? equipped infrastructure for pupils and students pursuing studies in their institutions. The Cameroon government??s undertaking to create secondary schools in all administrative units of the country is laudable, but the difficulty of providing infrastructure and academic staff is well known. This explains why some communities while waiting for government to provide needed infrastructure, construct classrooms and even recruit staff to meet the needs of their young ones. But the challenge here is to sacrifice and invest wisely since anything done in haste and imprudence can be very costly at last. In this light, it is expedient to accept and celebrate the granting of a secondary school to a community not only with thanks to the authorities, but also hard work to meet the needs of young Cameroonians in their craving for knowledge. Most important, we must shy off from the canker worm of inertia, and sit up to face the challenges of doing the right thing at the right time so as to end up with what is expected of people with concern for their future.
Shey Peter Mabu, Cameroon Tribune

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