Form One enrolment a headache

Charles Dube

EXCITING times for A-level and O-level learners as their academic year has swiftly gone by. As I write some A-level learners are already at home having commenced their long holidays. Results are expected early next year and there is no need to panic thinking about them especially if you know that you worked hard. Hard work definitely produces good results.

Now that the year is coming to an end, parents and guardians are preoccupied with requirements of the following year. Some learners are moving into Form One, a problematic phase in the education of learners today. Enrolment of learners into Form One since the introduction of e-enrolment has brought more teething problems to the stakeholders. Parents and guardians make all the effort to apply through the internet only to be frustrated by unavailability of the network. All they get is the message reading, “pending”, which goes on and on with no clear results coming up.

All this gives the parents sleeplessness nights when they fail to get places for their children. There is little doubt that today’s parents are very much concerned about their children’s education. For somebody to keep them waiting and guessing about their children’s education is rather unfair and unfortunate. These days parents find it difficult to plan ahead for the entry of their children into Form One. Previously, by this time of the year, they would have acquired Form One places for their children.

They would have bought part of the requirements needed at respective schools. They would have bought school uniforms and paid part of the school fees, avoiding the hassle and bustle associated with the opening of schools in January. They would have avoided buying school uniforms at the last minute when prices could have gone up with all businesses trying to capitalise on the panic buying hence selling items at exorbitant prices.

We sympathise with parents and guardians when faced with such difficult situations. Times are hard as the economic situation is unfriendly. Parents are finding it difficult to put food on the table and to add more woes by making them run at the last minute looking for Form One places is expecting too much. There is an adage which reads, “Last minute is dangerous.” Parents have preferred schools for their children and are disturbed when their choices are suddenly taken away from them.

It is a sour pill to imply that all schools are the same when they do not have equal resources. While it is common knowledge that all schools are the same, people, being people, have different tastes. I read the following quotation from a school magazine of schools of repute which gave advice to what parents and guardians should prioritise in a school: “REMEMBER: There is no perfect school — no school will fit your priorities perfectly. There is no “Best School” — there is the best school for your child.

Why is there a rush for places at a few schools when the whole country is littered with schools? Earlier I insinuated that parents want their children to be educated at well-equipped schools which have a reputation of producing good results. Experts believe these are superficial aspects of a school which parents should consider but not as final aspects to influence a decision to select a school for the child. Some parents also consider religion or lack of it at a school. They would not take their children to schools belonging to a religion other than their own. This stems from a belief that their children might be forced to turn away from their own religion and adopt a new one offered by the school.

Parents make mistakes when choosing schools for their children. At times it is necessary for parents or guardians to visit potential schools to get the right information they need to know about them. They should not rely on falsehood peddlers who go about talking negatives about certain schools which they have never visited. It is quite embarrassing to hear somebody saying such a school is like this with no concrete information to back the allegations.

I have heard a lot of hogwash peddled in the streets that learners from a certain school while they do well at O-level, they falter at A-level and at university which is untrue. Facts on the ground show a different story as learners from the school go on to excel at higher learning institutions. Parents and guardians do not be misled with such street talk. Take your time and find out what is best for your children. Do not base your selection of schools on the grapevine because more often than not the information you hear through the rumour mill is not based on fact.

Other common mistakes parents make when selecting schools for their children are documented in the reputable school magazine I read. Parents base their selection on their own reputation. What will folk at the office say? What has that to do with your children’s education? Why try to please your friends at the expense of your children? Select a school on affordability. Do not send your child to an expensive school to fit into the club of your colleagues.

The most common mistake for selecting a school for a child is parents choosing their old school. I learnt at such a school, therefore my child should also go to that school, but they forget that schools change, as heads change. Facilities do not always change. We are told some base their selection on their successful or failed ambition. A reminder is that children will not necessarily follow their parents’ footsteps. What is right for the child might not necessarily be right for the parent. Above all, parents base their selection of schools on academic or sporting results — but we are told that results are not a measurement of how your child will fare.

I liked the following advice on selecting schools for learners: “Avoid falling into the pitfalls of prejudice, presumption and pride.” What does this mean? Prejudice — preconceived opinion that is not based on reason or actual fact. Presumption — an idea that is taken to be true on the basis of probability. Pride — a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one’s own achievements, or the achievements of one’s close associates. Well said, I need not say more.

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