adminIN philosophical theology, or moral discussions, corruption is the abuse of bestowed power or position to acquire a personal benefit. Corruption may include many activities including bribery and embezzlement, and it happens at various facets of life.
Transparency International describes corruption as “the abuse of entrusted power for private gain”. In addition, corruption can be classified as grand, petty and political, depending on the amounts of money involved or the kind of social ill that took place, and of course, the sector where it occurred.
Nonetheless, no one can dispute that corruption has become a social ill that has destroyed the very social fabric that is supposed to hold communities together. It undermines people’s trust in the political system, in its institutions and its leadership. Moreover, a distrustful or apathetic public can then become yet another hurdle to challenging corruption.
What has been of concern of late is that corruption has crept into School Development Committees which by design, are meant to help perpetuate a conducive learning environment for children in schools. Moreover, what is saddening is that people who are involved in corruption in these committees are parents who are supposed to guard jealously school resources and funds, for the benefit of their own children.
Reports that schools countrywide lost millions of dollars through corrupt activities by SDC members and headmasters made sad reading, especially taking into account that some parents toil day and night to raise money to send their children to school.
What is clear in this case is that SDCs have betrayed the trust bestowed upon them by parents and Government, and have taken the root to make themselves rich through ill-gotten means, and something has to be done to stop the rot.
The mandate of such committees is to help Government and school owners build, develop and maintain school buildings and grounds and support teaching and learning.
The idea behind involving parents in the running of schools was that they know the needs of the school as they work closely with the headmaster and teachers. But what has been happening is that SDCs have been working in cahoots with headmasters and deputy headmasters to steal money from schools, in fact, steal from the very children they are supposed to protect. Some committee members have been accused to giving themselves tenders to supply or build some infrastructure at schools, of course charging the top dollar. Some have been accused of inflating prices of school purchases like buses, desks and even books, and the list goes on and on.
However, we believe the only way to stop the rot is to vet office bearers, as opposed to accepting anyone who lands a post through a popularity contest among parents. Those who have been caught with their hands in the till should be prosecuted, and banned from holding posts in such committees in future. We can not run away from the fact that times are hard and as such, whatever is raised by parents should be looked after properly, and fortune seeking individuals should not be allowed anywhere near School Development Committees, as they only serve to reverse the gains made in the education sector.
The Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is in the process of carrying out an audit of finances in schools countrywide, and preliminary reports indicate massive looting, and we urge the ministry to make tough decisions that will protect the sector from fortune seekers who come pretending to be volunteers in school committees.
Online Reporter