As Lagos urges patience over probe

By Adesina Wahab and Elizabeth Osayande

School owners under the aegis of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, NAPPS, have said the recent sex video involving some students of Chrisland School, Lagos is a reflection of the moral decadence in the society.

The association, which spoke through its National President, Otunba Yomi Otubela, on Thursday, said the students involved, by their actions, reflected the level of decay in the moral gauge of the society.

• Chrisland: Ensure proactive regulation, affordable quality education, not shutting schools — Lagos PDP blasts govt 

It, therefore, called for a resetting of the moral compass and a return to godly behaviour and upbringing of the young ones.

“While we condemn in its entirety the act as depicted in the said video involving the minors, we appeal for caution from members of the public and enjoin them to refrain from making unsavoury comments over the issue for the sake of the mental well being of the minors involved. 

“Moreover, we have confidence in the ability of the police authority, the officials of ministry of education and the school authority to do the needful on the issue. 

“Going forward, we wish to address the issue of moral decadence in schools with a view to minimising the occurrence of issues around it. 

“The acts portraying moral decadence are not exclusive to schools as the issue cuts across every aspect of our society. Since children are a reflection of the society they live in, it, therefore, shows that a concerted effort will be needed to nip the malaise in the bud. 

“Sadly, moral decadence has eaten deep into the moral fabrics of the society and the result is what we are witnessing today in the society including our educational institutions. 

“Most studies show that parents are to take the larger portion of the blame for children’s behaviour, hence, parents must take a greater role in shaping their children’s future by inculcating morally acceptable behaviour in them. They must bear in mind that children’s moral development begins at home. The school is to complement their efforts.  

“Unfortunately, parents are shying away from this responsibility rather they prefer to shift this responsibility to the schools. 

“This neglect of parental responsibility from home has made it a herculean task for the school to achieve much progress. For instance, when the background of a child is already faulty and without the needed support from home to effectively collaborate with the school management to address the identified challenges, one can only imagine how such a child will turn out to be in society. 

“It is only effective collaboration between the school and the home that can bring out a morally rich child. It is sad to note that this much-needed collaboration has been lacking in our educational system due to societal pressure which has created a communication gap between the school and home. Parents are not usually present to monitor their children at home due to pressure from works and unending heavy vehicular traffic, expecially in the city. This make many parents leave home as early as 5am and return home from 9pm in the evening.  No quality time with the children.”

Otubela called on parents to pay special attention to the emotional needs of their children, and to also take note of the fact that technological advances also shape how these children behave. 

He also charged school management to be alive to their responsibility and take decisive actions on issues bordering on morality among students.

“Every school should have a child protection policy in place and properly engage parents, staff members, students and other stakeholders on how to ensure strict adherence to the instructions contained in the policy. Technological devices used by students in schools must be restricted to ensure students are limited to educational sites only.”

On the decision to shut down all campuses of Chrisland Schools, the NAPPS boss said it would affect other innocent students, especially those preparing for their terminal examinations.

“While we are in support of the swift move by the Lagos State government to investigate the issue, we view with concern the recent announcement of the state government to shut down all branches of Chrisland Schools in the state over the said sex video. 

“We feel shutting down all the branches of the school might deny other children their rights to learn more and for those in the terminal classes the right to continue  their preparation for their final examinations. Equally of concern is the fact that the parents , as observed above , are not always available for the upkeep of this children.  So we are disturbed about what become of these children for the period of the closure.”

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government has urged the public to be patience regarding the outcome of investigation into the matter, since the probe panel just started its work.

The Public Affairs Officer of the Ministry of Education, Mr Ganiu Lawal, stated this while reacting to enquiry about the sitting of the panel.

He said, “As you are aware, the Lagos State Police Command has commenced investigation of the Chrisland saga and I am sure the Police authority will share findings of their investigation at the appropriate time.