Boarding or day school? Parents share contrasting views on discipline

A cross section of parents in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have varied opinions between boarding and day schools in fostering discipline in children.

Some parents shared their views in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja.

Some argued that boarding schools, with their regimented structure, inculcate greater discipline in students, while the proponents of day schools cited some potential negative influences and a lack of parental oversight on the students. 

Mr Ubong Okon, a public servant and a father of two, said that boarding schools instil a sense of responsibility and self-reliance in children.

He added that discipline should not always involve beating but counselling of the children.

“If the child is extremely stubborn, I recommend beating but not to a point of making the child be distant from you.

“You can sit and talk to the child or cut off some privileges as a form of discipline.

“Do not sugar-coat the punishment as a parent; stand firm on your word,” he said.

Another parent, Mr Abubakar Isah, said that boarding schools enable children to understand respect, leadership and management roles within a short time.

According to him, boarding students often mature much more than their peers.

“I prefer boarding school because it effectively instills values and norms in children.

“On disciplining a child, there is no other way other than to flog them at times,’’ he said.

Isha said that even tough criminals are corrected through hard labour and beating to make them understand the negative act which they committed.

“The idea of not flogging is one of the bad western lifestyles we have adopted, and it is making our children highly immoral and undisciplined,” he said.

Mrs Mary Okechukwu, a public servant who shared the position of Isah, said that flogging could be part of discipline, citing the biblical proverb, “Spare the rod, spoil the child’.

She, however, added that there were other forms of physical punishment apart from flogging.

“You can take away things that matter most to the child; it depends on what the child finds comforting.

“You have to train your child in the way you want the child to understand,” she said.

Mrs Beatrice Idu, a mother of four, said she prefers her child to stay with her to learn necessary values rather than be in boarding school.

“There are vices in boarding schools that I don’t support, such as bullying,” she said.

Miss Perpetual Njoku, a day student, said discipline in her school included labour such as cutting grass, cleaning classrooms and other chores.

Another student, Mr Godswill Nwike, who attended boarding school, said the training made him live together and interact freely with diverse people regardless of tribe and religious background (NAN).

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