Teacher Strikes Damage Student Learning

EnezaCool Edtech Resources, Edtech Posts, Education in Kenya, MPrep UpdatesLeave a Comment

One of the roles of a teacher is being a moral educator to the students. Morals are not taught in the curriculum but it is an obligation of every reasonable adult to impart good morals kids. Morals are standards of behaviour or that defines the good and the bad. The perennial strikes by teachers in third world countries are negatively impacting on good morals of students during this period. Kenya has experienced a series of teacher strikes since the year 1997 over salaries and allowances. It is a pity when innocent kids miss out on crucial lessons as a result of repeated strikes by teachers. It is natural for every kid to behave well under supervision from an adult.

As the strike continues, students are engaging on several activities that parents may not be able to monitor since they are at work places whole day. Children love play and when left alone, it is obvious that they could overdo it causing unexpected harm to their bodies. Safety of kids should be adhered to by teachers and parents at all times avoid incurrence of unnecessary medical expenses for injuries from uncontrolled pay.

As the saying goes, “Bad Company ruins good morals.” During strikes, students could find themselves associating with peers with bad morals.  Not all kids get a proper upbringing at their homes. When students are back home during the strikes, they interact interact freely with peers in their neighbourhoods since they have a lot of free time at their disposal. Students could engage in drug abuse,child sex, bullying, dishonesty and other vices during these interactions. These are just but a few destructive behaviours that damage proper learning.

Other Damages to Students

1. Child Labour

When students are back at home, parents could subject them to chores in the farms so as to supplement family income. This may go unnoticed hence children suffer both psychologically and physically.

2. Time wastage

Time wasted can never be recovered. A lot of study time goes to waste due to strikes. The time planned for coverage of the intended syllabus cannot be recovered which puts students under pressure to study on their own without the teacher’s guidance.

3. Negative Performance

Failure to study under a strict timetable can lead to poor performance in examinations. As a result of this, careers can be destroyed at a tender age.

4. Strained Budgets by Parents

Fees paid for tuition of the students is never refunded or reimbursed to the parents, neither is it carried forward to the next term of study. Parents have to incur extra costs on private tuitions for their kids in the quest to try to fill the gaps created by the strikes.

In a nutshell, teacher strikes damages to a large extent the learning by students. It is important that goverments and teacher unions become sensitive to the innocent children who are uttimately the future of our great world.

 

Use Eneza Education to study during this strike period. Just dial *851# on  Safaricom Line and hit send to get started.

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *