In recent times, in the quest to provide quality education for their children, many parents have abandoned public schools to enrol their children in private schools.
It is arguable that private schools provide quality teaching and their students tend to perform better academically. Others however believe that the students are not all as bright as most schools try to project them, alleging that the schools compromised in their grading considering the huge amount of money parents invest in them.
As a result, there is serious competition among the private schools on which of them has the most intelligent students and outperforms the others in grades, quiz contests, sports, and national examinations among others.
This competition has led to the introduction of different curricular and extra-curricular activities in schools; this is even as some are said to compromise in order to be identified as churning out ‘A’ grade students.
Unfortunately, this trend has seen desperate parents taking whatever means to ensure their children are among those rated as high performers. With this intent, some parents use monetary and other rewards to get teachers to favour their children in schools.
Also, teachers who are not well paid grab the opportunity to complement their meagre salaries. So in order to encourage parents, by giving advantage to their children, they create means of bonding with children from rich homes and others whose parents can offer them cash and gifts from time to time.
This is even as many seek to be private teachers to some of their students just to ensure they gain from their families.
A parent who wants to be addressed as Mrs John told Daily Trust that it has become the norm for parents to make provision for gifts to teachers and that is aside from the small cash presents from time to time.
She said sometimes, the teachers indirectly ask for gifts especially towards the end of the term as the children are closing and with the parties you have to prepare for, you also have to make provision for the teachers.
“Though I don’t think it is wrong to give because they spend more time with the kids and most times do extra work for them, but the only challenge is when it is not convenient to give they make it look like you have breached a kind agreement, which is not so,” she said.
She however said in her case, the teacher did not ask her directly but she was approached by another staff who suggested that it would be good if I bought gifts for my children’s teachers because many parents are doing so and the teachers in return give extra attention to their children.
“So I bought earrings without knowing if all the teachers were females. I called the person that hinted me and she said one was a male, ns I said he could give it to his wife. And don’t forget, I had to give money to the one who brought the idea,” she said.
On if the gift is a way of influencing the children’s results, she said: “I can’t say for sure but I believe it will because I won’t be giving you gift and you will fail my child. But I know that they pay more attention to the children whose parents give them something, though it may not be regularly but from time to time.”
Another parent who wants to be called Mrs Phillip said she was told by her kids that their teacher helps them out and most times she goes to pick them up, the teacher gives her a welcoming reception.
“I had to also give money and in some cases whenever I visited I had to make preparation not just for the children but for the teachers and other staff as well,” she said.
“The truth is the teachers spend more time with the kids than most parents so showing appreciation is not entirely wrong but what is wrong is if they have to compromise by placing other children in a position they do not belong. I don’t think they are helping them,” she said.
A teacher in a preparatory school in Abuja who wants to be identified as Sophia said most of their kids are children of the rich and in some cases, it is the teachers that induce the atmosphere to be getting rewards from parents.
“I remember how some of my colleagues will develop a special interest in children whose parents are rich and start giving them more time and attention; that way, the children will form a bond with them and whenever their parents come to pick them up they ensure they bring the child themselves and show the child love. So in most cases the parents are moved and give them money,” she said.
She further said: “Also, some teachers go as far as reaching out to parents personally when a child is sick or needs something. This is very wrong because it is supposed to be the school admin who should reach out to parents in case of emergency or meeting.”
Another teacher said there is nothing wrong in parents gifting teachers because most parents leave their responsibilities to the teachers, saying, some parents bring children to school without feeding them or changing diapers.
“Sometimes they come and dump the child on teachers and in some cases drop small cash and so the teacher would be glad to do whatever the parents want.”
“The truth is that teachers pay more attention to children whose parents give them money or gifts because they want them to be doing well so that the parents will be impressed and in most cases, they are also hired as the lesson teachers of the kids,” he said.
He however, explained that in most cases when the teacher is the child’s lesson teacher he or she must be willing to make the child’s performance better but in some cases if the child is not that bright to catch up easily, the teacher may have to compromise and give the child a good grade to show that the parents are not wasting the extra cash they put in.”
Reacting, the CEO of Voyage International Schools, Abuja, Yussuff Oriyomi, said it is a poor practice and affects the integrity of everyone involved.
“It’s a practice no school or corporate organization should condone. Both the teachers and parents involved need to be reprimanded. The practice discourages effort and hard work; it robs Peter to pay Paul and is despicable,” he said.
Oriyomi said they have strict governance protocols in place to address things like that in his school.
“We have a gift policy. Every staff knows gifts from parents must be deposited with the head of school who then shares to everyone at the end of the term,” he said.
On teachers doubling as private teachers, he said: “In our school, we don’t allow a class teacher to be the private lesson teacher to the same child. Our teachers are mandated to disclose the names of their students for home lesson if they are our students. That way, the temptation to compromise is greatly reduced. We encourage every school to have strong policies in place to safeguard such occurrences.”
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