A school matron checks a student’s luggage on the opening day. Through vigilance, many teachers and school administrators have managed to curb indiscipline

By Chris Kiwawulo

WHEN fire gutted the Kisubi High School S.6 dormitory last year, the Police suspected arson. Two S.6 students were arrested when Police recovered sachets of waragi in their bags. The students are now facing charges of setting the dormitory ablaze.

As schools open for the new academic year this week, parents and teachers have to watch out for students, who smuggle items not allowed in school.
Students have become shrewd. They smuggle alcohol, drugs, cellphones, clothes, electrical appliances and foodstuffs among other items.

Several school fires have been caused when negligent students leave electrical appliances, like water heaters connected to power sockets leading to short circuits and eventually fire break out.

Schools have banned many of these items. Parents need to ensure children do not take these items to school by monitoring them as they pack.

Electrical appliances and clothing
According to Geraldine Namirembe Bitamazire, the education minister, whenever students are returning from holidays, teachers and parents should look out for items that will have a negative impact on them.
“Teachers should check children’s suitcases for anything that can jeopardise the safety of the school,” she says.

Adding: “As a ministry, we emphasise discipline and security in schools, so we support schools in implementing regulations for safety.” When items like cell phones are found, they should be kept and handed over to the child’s parents or to the child when they are breaking off for holidays.

Bitamazire says, “I have heard of a teacher, who confiscated a child’s cell phone and took it. That is not proper.”
Bitamazire says the ministry is not able to develop a national policy on forbidden items because of the varying environments in schools.

Joyce Namirimu, a parent, says it is a requirement and an obligation for parents to check their children’s luggage when they are packing items to take to school.

“Much as you may do shopping with your child, you will be surprised that he or she has some items like a cell phone or a miniskirt in the suitcase, that you did not purchase,” she observes.

“When a child is caught with such items like alcohol, it affects both the childs and parents. The child will be expelled or suspended and the relationship with the parent will deteroriate,” she says.

Cigarretes and drugs
Joseph Musaalo, a counselling psychologist at Uganda Christian University Mukono, says checking the child’s suitcase depends on the relationship a parent has with the child.

Some children get offended when a parent goes through their luggage.
“Children should be told what to pack and what not to pack. Some students are not afraid to let their luggage be checked even at school because they are confident they can elude the authorities.

Musaalo says: “If a child is your friend, they will fear to hurt you.”

He encourages parents to point out consequences of disobeying school rules.

He explains that using appreciative words like ‘you are a nice and bright child, who should not engage in such wrong doing’ will help to calm down the child.

Musaalo says teachers should talk to students who have smuggled unwanted items instead of rushing to punish them. “Some teachers punish or expel children because of breaking school rules. But sensitisation is the best way to solve such problems.”

He advises schools to have a counselling desk, especially for children found in possession of drugs. “You need to hire services of a professional counsellor so that they talk to the child about the repercussions of their actions.”

Musaalo advises schools to counsel students instead of rushing to punish them.

Forbidden foodstuff
Frederick Kizito, a dietician, says parents and teachers should check children’s suitcases to ensure they do not pack foodstuffs that are forbidden by schools. He says many schools outlaw packing of foodstuffs that easily go bad and can therefore harm children’s health.

He cites bread, groundnut paste and peanut butter that may go bad. The student may not notice and therefore continue eating the bad food. Bread may develop moulds and the child may not notice. Groundnut paste and peanut butter are susceptible to bacterial infection.

“The more the child scoops this paste out of the tin or bowel, the more they make it prone to bacterial invasion. At the end of the day, it will not be good for human consumption although the child may not notice,” Kizito says.

He adds: “The biggest challenge of taking food to school is storage. Given the state of the dormitories and the suitcases, where children keep their foodstuffs, the probability of it going bad is high.

This is the reason many schools do not allow children to pack foodstuffs.
Food stuffs are easy to detect as they are packed in containers, he says.