The Government Must Be Bold To Tell Parents To Pay Part Of The School Fees Of Their Wards.

I have always said that the implementation of the free education policy is one of the best policies ever thought of by our politicians in this country. However, the implementation was highly politically motivated rather than the actual intention it came with. I can confidently say that; many parents and stakeholders are beginning to lose interest in our educational system because much isn't done to make it remain relevant as it was.

The government knew very well that the country didn't have the needed infrastructural space to support the operation of the policy, yet it went ahead to implement it. Many have argued that it was important to start it anyway, and then look for solutions to the problems that will arise. This means no proper feasibility studies were done to figure out what could be the associated problems with the implementation of the program.

Furthermore, many schools didn't also have classrooms, dormitory facilities, teachers' quarters, textbooks, and other resources and logistics to run the program. The government should have therefore piloted the program in few schools that could operate the policy while the government took steps to arrange for full implementation of it. The lack of these resources and logistics compelled the government to introduce the infamous double-track system which brought a heavy toll on the entire educational system in the country.

Currently, the government is facing a huge financial burden in seeing to the fixing of the infrastructural deficit across schools as well as struggling to pay related fees for all students enjoying the free education program. This has also led to the many difficulties the government is facing with the development of the other sectors of the economy. A huge chunk of money is channeled into the policy's sustainability yet, it's still struggling to stand on its feet.

It's against this background that the government must be bold enough to tell parents to pay part of the fees of their wards as a shared responsibility on their part. The human capital development of any nation is a key to its survival. Therefore, quality education for the youth of this country is paramount and must be sustained to push the agenda of our development forward. Though the various governments have done their best in transforming our educational system, not much is seen in gaining any positive picture in the future. The future of our educational system is so blurred and many efforts need to be put in to salvage the situation now.

The beneficiaries of the free education policy may be scoring high grades at the end of the program. But I can tell you the porosity of the system will be exposed in 10 years to come. The current students aren't serious with their studies because; they think everything, including the exam grades, must be made freely available to them. They don't study yet they except to pass the final exams. If one doesn't die how can one go to heaven? This is attributed to the fact that; parents lack the moral courage to tell their wards to study hard in school. After all, it's free education.

Gone are the days parents warned their wards not to waste the resources they put into educating them. The students themselves were aware of the fact that; they needed to pass to make their parents proud. This isn't the situation anymore. Students are found fooling all over social media. This is the cost we pay for gifts( free education)

Our education, health, security, and agriculture sectors are very sensitive areas politicians mustn't use to gain cheap political points. These areas must therefore be decoupled from politics of equalisation and justification. We should allow people with the required expertise to manage these areas instead of just putting politicians who lack the knowledge to man the operation of these sensitive areas.

Finally, it's about time parents are told to brace up and support the government in educating their wards by paying part of their school fees. The government should make it clearly known to parents and other stakeholders that, the cost of the policy is unbearable and calls for the support of all to sustain the policy.

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