A Guide To business At Any Age

At last, the debate on the future of boarding school is attracting significant attention by the GOK and the public.  I have for half a decade argued they are the irredeemably deficient environment for learning in the 21^st century. They have outlived their usefulness in modern Kenya. Today, they exist

1. To give prestige especially to the low-income earners and a section of middle-income earners. This lot stand indicted for driving the craze for boarding schools in the last two decades.
2. To abrogate parent responsibility.
3. To give freedom to the parent (s) for social and economic reasons e.g. career
4. “Safe house” or better still “’orphanage’’ for parents who move abroad. They find it a good arrangement  for it acts the home of the child

The history of educating in secluded environment traces routes in monasteries of ancient religions through modern religion such as Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches.  The idea was to separate individuals from their community and have them join a new community of monks or ascetics. Boarding schools more so in contemporary Kenya seem to be having a rider on the same principle.  Children are uprooted from their communities and enlisted into a pseudo –community called boarding community. What has been acclaimed and produced in defense of boarding school are better grades and a good place for discipline. However, there is no evidence that those in boarding are more disciplined.   Fear of punishment which is the apparent factor in the way they behave does not translate to discipline.  In any case, it is in the public knowledge we find in this schools;

1. Recruitment into drug and alcohol abuse
2. Sexual assault by either fellow students or teachers
3. Learning and practicing Homosexuality
4. Recruitment into antisocial movements
5. Stress and depression over rigorous teaching and revision schedules and long separation from loved ones.
6. Poor feeding
7. Bullying, maiming, and killings through fires, drowning among others
8. Neglect by teachers: cases of students dying after their illnesses were ignored are on the increase
9. Lack of exposure boarding the controlled. Exposure to life in the context of larger society helps furnish an individual with competences to face life.
10. Violence against teachers
11. Destruction of property

The debate is healthy. The option is to abolish or have them restructured to serve contemporary needs of the learners and the society with realities of our times in mind. The change will be painful but it has to be done.