National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) has condemned the Lagos State Government’s decision to shut down all branches of Chrisland School in the State over an immoral act involving students of the school.
Gatekeepers News reports that the State Government gave the directive following the controversies that surrounded a sex video of the underage students of Chrisland that went viral. The students had reportedly filmed the video during a trip to Dubai in March 2022, when they went to partake in the World School Games.
The government also warned that whoever shares such a video of minors risks a 15-year jail term. Chrisland has also sanctioned five of its students who engaged in the immoral act during the trip.
However, private school owners disagreed with the government’s shutdown of all Chrisland branches.
“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,” they said in a statement by their National President, Chief Yomi Otubela, on Thursday.
“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 these children. So we are disturbed about what becomes of these children for the period of the closure.
“However, we support that Lagos State Monitoring and Supervisory committee be introduced among Chrisland Schools Management team pending the conclusion of the investigation.
“We await the outcome of the government investigation on the alleged gross negligence on the part of Chrisland Schools to allow students of such age bracket sleep alone without the presence of a teacher of same-sex, as well as the allegations of the school poor communication, the delayed for over a month after the incident before calling the attention of the minor’s parents to the exact issue. This will help us take informed decisions.
“We recommend that the children involved should be taken to experts in mental health for adequate intervention and rehabilitation,” the statement read in part.
NAPPS said most studies showed that parents should take a larger portion of the blame for children’s behaviour and charged school management and teachers to be fully equipped to adequately protect learners put under their watch by not neglecting their duty of care to their learners.
The statement added, “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.
“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.
“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.
“Parents must ensure that they devise a means to monitor what their children watch to restrict them from accessing adult sites at home. Some television programs, including reality TV shows, should be properly censored by appropriate government agencies before allowing them on cable TV.
“The school management must be alive to its responsibility by taking decisive actions on the issue of morally bankrupt learners in their schools without fear and favour. Appropriate and well-documented steps must be taken to deal with deviant behaviours noticed in their learners.
“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.
“The society should pay equal attention in counselling boy child as we do for girl child. They both need to be fully guarded and provided for as they approach puberty.”
