SUMMER SCHOOLING:
Benue Residents Call For Regulation To Allow Pupils Rest
Jimmie Adzande
Holiday schooling also known as summer school or lessons have become popular among parents and teachers in Nigeria.
In it, parents arrange for students to continue attending classes during the long holidays which are meant to be rest periods for the children.
In this report, we attempt answers on the appropriateness or not of these classes at a time children are supposed to take a break.
For Torkula Florence, a teacher with St. Theresa’s Private School Makurdi, there is some level of continuity in learning that goes on as a result summer school. This she argues, will not allow the children to forget what has been learnt due to the length of the break.
Johnson Agene-, a pupil of the same school says he is happy to learn at this time. He also says he will do better than his mates who are on holidays without classes.
To some, the summer school is an abuse on the pupils. A parent and teacher, Tarpande Samuel agrees with curriculum planners that pupils should rest at some point. He notes that continuous learning without a break can cause a sprain on the mental well-being of the pupils.
To strike a balance in the holiday-summer learning argument, some including Terseer Manasseh are of the opinion that the government should wade in and regulate the use of the long holiday period to ensure that Pupils not only learn, but also rest during the long holiday period.
The argument for or against summer lessons, many say, will continue to generate mixed reactions until a balance is reached maybe, through government intervention.
