The dangers of longer school days for your child
Jul 09, 2006
IT was a night of the full moon and at 5:00am, Beth, 8 and Nick, 11, ran to join their colleagues for morning prep. They are day scholars at St. Maria Goretti Preparatory, a boarding school in Kabale.
By Carol Natukunda
IT was a night of the full moon and at 5:00am, Beth, 8 and Nick, 11, ran to join their colleagues for morning prep. They are day scholars at St. Maria Goretti Preparatory, a boarding school in Kabale.
Alice Neza, their mother narrates, “I was sleeping when they left. I went to wake them up, but they were nowhere. I found the gate open. They had left...†She couldn’t rest until she found them at school.
It is no longer a secret. Under the guise of preps, primary schools are opening for longer hours. Boarding schools with day sections require day pupils to report as early as 6:00am for morning prep.
Like to 64-year-old Charles Rubabaza, this trend puzzles those who studied in the 1970s and 1980s. Are primary school pupils studying more? Rubabaza, the proprietor of Nakawa daycare school, doesn’t see the rationale of the preps. “Back then, you reported to school at 8:00am and leave early enough to cook, graze goats and cows, or even fetch water and we still managed to go to university. I think many of these schools want to justify their high fees,†Rubabaza argues.
Other parents say this trend is a result of stiff competition for good schools. “The children have to persevere rather than teachers blaming us for denying the child an opportunity to excel,†said a parent with a child in a boarding school.
However, while more schools are forcing their children to study for longer hours, research has shown the practice causes stress. Kajumba Mayanja, a clinical psychologist at Makerere University Institute of Psychology, warns that for a child who isn’t sleeping enough “The brain becomes exhausted, especially if they work extra hard throughout the day. This could lead to stress. They won’t take in any more, hence this affects their academic performance,†Mayanja says.
Kyla Boyse in Sleep Problems (2004) says, “About 10% of the kids fall asleep in class. This means they are sleep deprived. This causes depression later on.†Primary school-aged children, Boyse adds, need between nine and 12 hours of sleep. This is contrary to the reality, in that a child who wakes up at 5:00am and goes to bed at 11:00pm has only five to six hours of sleep.
The 2005 American Journal on School Health says cognitive abilities are affected when children do not have enough sleep. “There is a possibility of sleep onset delay, night-walkings, sleep-disordered breathing and increased day-time sleepiness,†the authors state.
Aggrey Kibenge, the education ministry spokesperson says different schools have different programmes. “Some have activities like chapel, roll call and registration that have to be done in the morning, but these activities should not threaten the child’s security. Kibenge says while there is no policy on what time classes should close, the ministry encourages 8:00am to 5:00pm to be the official school time.
A survey in Kampala schools reveals that prep time ranges from 6:30am to 10:00pm. At Namagunga Day and Boarding Primary School, morning prep starts at 6:30am and evening prep varies according to the classes. Mary Jjuuko, the deputy head teacher says, “Primary One to Four have theirs from 7:00 to 8:00pm, while Primary Five and Six night prep goes on up to 9:00pm. Primary Seven prep ends at 10:00 pm.â€
And what about those day scholars whose parents cannot afford boarding fees: would they continue to walk to school in the wee hours, or walk back home at 10:00pm?
“Day scholars are supposed to fit in the school timetable,†says Jjuuko. She believes prep at particular times is not in bad faith, but part of the school training. “We want them to plan on their own, without a teacher’s help,†she says
Agnes Nakabugo, the headmistress of Namugongo Girls Primary School says early morning prep is the best time for a child to concentrate.
According to Sr Thereza kananura, the headmistress of namilyango Junior School where morning prep begins at 6.30am, prep helps a child to finish their work.
Inadequate sleep has adverse effects on children. But in the absence of a government policy on school timetables and with the stiff competition for good schools, children will continue studying for longer hours whether it is beneficial or not.
Ends
IT was a night of the full moon and at 5:00am, Beth, 8 and Nick, 11, ran to join their colleagues for morning prep. They are day scholars at St. Maria Goretti Preparatory, a boarding school in Kabale.
Alice Neza, their mother narrates, “I was sleeping when they left. I went to wake them up, but they were nowhere. I found the gate open. They had left...†She couldn’t rest until she found them at school.
It is no longer a secret. Under the guise of preps, primary schools are opening for longer hours. Boarding schools with day sections require day pupils to report as early as 6:00am for morning prep.
Like to 64-year-old Charles Rubabaza, this trend puzzles those who studied in the 1970s and 1980s. Are primary school pupils studying more? Rubabaza, the proprietor of Nakawa daycare school, doesn’t see the rationale of the preps. “Back then, you reported to school at 8:00am and leave early enough to cook, graze goats and cows, or even fetch water and we still managed to go to university. I think many of these schools want to justify their high fees,†Rubabaza argues.
Other parents say this trend is a result of stiff competition for good schools. “The children have to persevere rather than teachers blaming us for denying the child an opportunity to excel,†said a parent with a child in a boarding school.
However, while more schools are forcing their children to study for longer hours, research has shown the practice causes stress. Kajumba Mayanja, a clinical psychologist at Makerere University Institute of Psychology, warns that for a child who isn’t sleeping enough “The brain becomes exhausted, especially if they work extra hard throughout the day. This could lead to stress. They won’t take in any more, hence this affects their academic performance,†Mayanja says.
Kyla Boyse in Sleep Problems (2004) says, “About 10% of the kids fall asleep in class. This means they are sleep deprived. This causes depression later on.†Primary school-aged children, Boyse adds, need between nine and 12 hours of sleep. This is contrary to the reality, in that a child who wakes up at 5:00am and goes to bed at 11:00pm has only five to six hours of sleep.
The 2005 American Journal on School Health says cognitive abilities are affected when children do not have enough sleep. “There is a possibility of sleep onset delay, night-walkings, sleep-disordered breathing and increased day-time sleepiness,†the authors state.
Aggrey Kibenge, the education ministry spokesperson says different schools have different programmes. “Some have activities like chapel, roll call and registration that have to be done in the morning, but these activities should not threaten the child’s security. Kibenge says while there is no policy on what time classes should close, the ministry encourages 8:00am to 5:00pm to be the official school time.
A survey in Kampala schools reveals that prep time ranges from 6:30am to 10:00pm. At Namagunga Day and Boarding Primary School, morning prep starts at 6:30am and evening prep varies according to the classes. Mary Jjuuko, the deputy head teacher says, “Primary One to Four have theirs from 7:00 to 8:00pm, while Primary Five and Six night prep goes on up to 9:00pm. Primary Seven prep ends at 10:00 pm.â€
And what about those day scholars whose parents cannot afford boarding fees: would they continue to walk to school in the wee hours, or walk back home at 10:00pm?
“Day scholars are supposed to fit in the school timetable,†says Jjuuko. She believes prep at particular times is not in bad faith, but part of the school training. “We want them to plan on their own, without a teacher’s help,†she says
Agnes Nakabugo, the headmistress of Namugongo Girls Primary School says early morning prep is the best time for a child to concentrate.
According to Sr Thereza kananura, the headmistress of namilyango Junior School where morning prep begins at 6.30am, prep helps a child to finish their work.
Inadequate sleep has adverse effects on children. But in the absence of a government policy on school timetables and with the stiff competition for good schools, children will continue studying for longer hours whether it is beneficial or not.
Ends