An educationist, Mrs. Violet Ubah, has urged parents and guardians to use the school holiday period to reactivate reading habits in their wards.
She warned against the children spending too much time on television during the period.
The second term holiday, which began on Good Friday, will run until April 19, in line with the 2023–2024 approved harmonised academic calendar of the Lagos State Ministry of Education, Office of Education Quality Assurance.
Ubah, Head of School at Pershing Hills Elementary, Lekki, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday that the passion for reading and writing amongst students had dropped.
“Most of the students go on holidays with the mindset of relaxing and packing their books to a corner, but it should not be so.
“Again, it’s not a period where they will be allowed to be watching television for hours; they need to be monitored to ensure that they make judicious use of their time studying.
“Good thing, most of them will come home with their results; parents must spend time to meticulously go through the performances and engage them in subjects that they have issues with.
“We need to instill this habit in them, and for the older ones, they can be encouraged to go to a nearby library and do research ahead of next term’s scheme of work,” she added.
The educationist emphasized the need for parents and guardians to take advantage of the period to have conversations with their children.
“We need to know about things that are going on in their personal and academic relationships with their teachers before we become strangers; let us get involved.
“The only way to find out what is happening to them in school is by having time to discuss it with them and knowing if they are being harassed, intimidated, or mocked by their peers.
“These are issues that can affect their academic performances and make them develop low self-esteem or lack confidence in themselves, so we need to take that into consideration.
“Mothers should also endeavour to expose them, both boys and girls, to cooking, personal hygiene, general cleaning of the house, and religious activities, all to avoid idleness in totality,” Ubah said. (NAN)
