BY LAJU ARENYEKA

There is no bullying and fagging in this school.” The JSS 1 student told me. And I believed her. After being beaten and punished for five of six years in the boarding house, I believed her. It didn’t matter that I stood on the grounds of a Pro Unitate school that reminded me of my own alma mater.

The JSS 1 student had spoken. If I was in her shoes just a few years back, I would have spoken of how much I longed to become a prefect so that I could “do my own back”, exercise authority, have junior students fetch my water and scream “yes senior” at my command.

Forget tomorrow; children are already leading today. While the National Assembly may await his leadership years from now, Ifeanyi Michael Onyemesi leads assembly in his secondary school in Lagos. “As the assembly prefect, my job is to help conduct assemblies, lead prayers and national anthem.”

He said. As his tenure draws to an end, Ifeanyi recounts: “I had some power, but it was limited; it entailed correcting the younger ones as well as giving pieces of advice to my mates. I had the opportunity to exercise my authority over the younger students which was quite fun.”

Beyond the fleeting authority that prefectship may confer, teachers and students alike who spoke to Vanguard Learning agree that giving students such added responsibility prepares them for the future. As a teacher, Mrs. Olarenwaju Florence Nwabuisi puts it this way: “Being a prefect is like undergoing a training, you’re preparing yourself for greater things in the future.”

Another prefect, Mayegun Odunayo described her learning experience thus: “As a prefect, I learnt to work closely with the principal of my school and I learnt a lot from him. I also learnt that honesty and truthfulness pay. I was nominated to become a prefect because people knew that I was trustworthy and they testified of it.”

Senior Prefect of Immaculate Conception College, Benin-City, and his assistant leading other students in a procession

What about the flip side of this added responsibility? What if it affects a student’s academic performance? Vice- Principal, Academics of Barbara Cox College, Mr. Solomon Abiodun, responds to this: “Concerning the choosing of the prefects, we look at their academic performance so that they would be able to function properly. We choose students who are strong academically, who we are sure can cope.”

Nwabusi states clearly the standards of selection that every teacher who spoke to Vanguard Learning agrees with: “We look at academic performance, morale, comportment and appearance.”

The selection process of these students also begs for attention. Prospective prefects in some schools have to campaign for their slots with manifestos to boot. Obi Blessing who just became a prefect said that her school has a “prefect selection committee. If you’re nominated as a prefect,” she said “the committee will interview you to determine how capable you are.”

According to Abiodun, “We use a democratic system here at the beginning. We ask the students to give us the names of students who they think are suitable. The teachers then meet and look at whether the names submitted fit the criteria. We look at leadership traits, academics and behaviour. If they come out all right after the process, we badge them.”

However, heavy is the chest that wears the badge; as prefects can be impeached or even suspended from school if they disobey the rules and regulations of their school. On the other hand though, advantages abound; prefects in some boarding schools get a double portion of food from the dining hall, diplomatic immunity from some form of punishment and labour, as well as a wide array of junior students at their beck and call.

A wise man once said that “with great power comes great responsibility.” Becoming a prefect can ring that true in the ears of a young chap. And that, in no small measure, brings hope for the future of Nigeria.