He sleeps in a room, along 15 others. His pit toilet is a heaven for reptiles, his Barth room is similar to that of low-budget public toilet. No large space for fresh breath. Most of the breakfasts, are half-tea cup of pap daily.
The lunch and dinner are not deferent either, not enough to carry him in to the day. Always appear frail, weak and tired. His hygiene calls for immediate help and attention.
Like the normal house chores, he wakes-up very early to do clean-up, his laundry, and school environmental sanitation, there is little time for academic activities before attending class. A situation, not healthy for kids, parents fail to understand.
Not only his school suffers from deadly reptiles, the fence had long give-up the ghost, giving rise to security concerns.
Boarding Schools in Rural Areas
Kenneth had no choice but to do, what his parents decide for him-a sad reality most students go through, all in the name of attending boarding a school.
These situations describe, what is happening in most, boarding Schools in sub-Sahara Africa. Especially, the low-budget boarding school, found in choked urban and rural areas.
Rural schools poorly equips, they are not fit and healthy, for young minds. A student, who finished from such place, may end up having, a poor mind set about life.
International Best Practices on Boarding Schools
According to United Nation Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), children reserve the right to quality Education, Care and Support. Meaning, the school structure must provide a healthy environment for learning.
Boarding system create an avenue for students to experience greatness aside home.
Schools, whether low-budgets, provide students with less stress, balanced and healthy foods, sound curricular activities and education with a difference
The most basic is the schools facilities and structure. It must be available, convenient and safe. The setting must not be deferent from of high institutions.
Students get to see life from a different perspective. Thereby, building the leaders for our great future.
Let’s see some facts about Boarding Schools in Rural Areas along Sahara Region of Africa.
The populations in rural areas exceed the urban centers.
• Poor Facilities: this is a common trend in most secondary school, but the situation is worst at the boarding level, not only are the facilities poor, they are not safe for use. A walk in to a boarding school at the rural level, will change your perception about primary and secondary education.
• Poor Sanitation: Most Boarding schools at that level, are with, but a poor sanitary system. A handful of students get sick on a regular basis, and authorities are less concern.
Sanitation is mostly done by students, a look at same boarding school sanitation system, shows poor maintenance. In the case of Kenneth, the convenience is more of a hell. A situation that need urgent attention.
• Insecurity: This is a worrisome development, the Chibok girls in the North Eastern state of Borno, is an example. Most of the boarding schools are without proper security. Some fences collapsed. Anyone could go in and out, without being noticed.
Facts about Boarding Schools in Rural Areas
• The use of Drugs: The use of hard drugs, and other banned substances, is currently circulating around dormitory. Some students influenced with hard drugs, now use the illegal substance. The future may not bright at the end of the tunnel. If this continue.
• Mal-nutrition: Due to poor meals and hunger, few suffer from mal-nutrition. Some students are not . The boarding system is not giving the needed diet, the way parents will give to their words.
• No Drugs in School Clinic: Most of the boarding school clinics, are not up-to-date with drugs. Students normally go home when sick.
• Cultism: Those days, when cultism is a high institutions problem, the trend has changed. The boarding school is now a home, for cultism and cultism related activities. Some Students may appear innocent on the surface, but they are members of some cultist groups
• Same-Sex drive: The boarding system is not free from this act, students are silently lured into homo-sexualism and lesbianism. Some sexuality had been sodomized.