Address school fights

Editorial

IT seems school fights has reared its ugly head again into schools and among students.
The issue may not have received much attention from authorities or media but it is a concern for parents whose children have become victims.
It has become routine for students to chase others of their number from schools on to roads and cause havoc and hindrance to the public and motorists.
And that should not be accepted as a norm.
Seems the introduction of every school year, term holidays or year end from recent observations, also signals the onslaught of school fights.
This looming fate may become a norm if there is no proper enforcement of behaviour policy in schools. If those tasked with enforcing penalties for those involved were on top of their responsibility, there will rarely be experiences as such because the students will fear retribution, that maybe tragic or costly.
It is the negative effects of a corrupt and lawless state that needs resuscitation.
One cause of school fights has been attributed to the cult system that has now gone down to primary school student affecting many lives and bringing all sorts of disturbances and problems to the peaceful communities.
Good-natured and long term preventive measures are needed to fully eliminate the on-going battles between schools or within school.
Tougher penalties should be applied to schools.
Corrective measures start at home but what we are experiencing doesn’t speak much about it.
Existing laws need to be re-visited.
All disciplinary cases should be dealt with by the school governing bodies and if the school governing bodies cannot handle the issue then they should be replaced.
In today’s norm, most parents tend to push this responsibility to teachers which is not right because teachers are there to educate them daily.
Parents who do not look after their child properly will be have a troublesome child.
Parents should look after and manage their child well as they are the number one teachers.
A bad precedent is set when we see primary school kids smoking and chewing betel nut and consuming alcohol.
The parents whose children walk to school, should take the responsibility of conducting their own investigation and find out if their children are really in school.
You see them leave the house but are you sure they made it to school?
As parents it is our duty to bring up our children.
We should be devoted to care for them.
We should talk with them every day, before they go to school and when they come back from school.
If parents make time for their children, many would avoid mischief and bad behaviour.
For some of these children, one can easily see the no-care attitude in their movement, especially in Port Moresby attending a school in Gerehu, and yet laughing and taking their good old time at a bus-stop in Boroko around 7.30am.
Makes one wonder if they were being forced to do something they were not interested in.
In today’s society, applying tough penalties on students in some schools has seen more complications come out of it.
Students and parents are retaliating against teachers.
Any student found to be guilty of involving in school fights or cult practices should be sent directly without bail to jail.
If they want to fight, then they should be treated as criminals.