Special Centre

Photo credit: pulse.ng

Someone has actually confirmed the special centre gist. Apparently this has been on for a long time because this reader who is in his middle thirties said it happened to him years ago at an external entrance examination into a prestigious government owned school.

Andy (not real name) arrived the venue of the examination with his mother who wouldn’t leave because he was quite ill. She stayed around to be sure that her son was comfortable and just in case of any emergency. He was taken to a hall and assigned a seat for the day. 

No sooner had he settled in, the harmattan breeze blew through the window which was just beside where he sat and he began to shiver. His mother who was still in the hall to make sure her son was settled went to the invigilators and pleaded with them to take her son to a second hall which looked a lot cosier. 

After much begging and when the son’s condition appeared worse, the chief invigilator moved him to the other hall which indeed was a lot warmer.

The examinations started and when it was twenty minutes to stop time, a man came into this particular examination hall where Andy was, shut the door behind him and also the two little windows in the room. 

He asked everyone to bring out their erasers and cross check their answers. He also ordered them to be silent and then went ahead to dictate the answers to the amazement of Andy who was the only one oblivious of his environment.

All the other students were eagerly erasing and re-shading their answers, it took Andy time to get the drift and join in the malpractice party. 

It turned out that it was a special centre that fate pushed him to. He wasn’t sure if he should be happy or sad as he looked at the grins of accomplishment on the faces of the parents and guardians of the “fortunate” students whose family had the wherewithal to pay for a special centre.

The ripple effects of a failed nation began to haunt us years ago and many years after we still suffer same consequences. 

The private schools spoil our children rotten, in our days we did our laundry by ourselves and so I will never understand why a teenager will not wash his own clothes. Most of the schools even hide the bad behaviours of our children just to maintain a good name and ultimately remain in business.

Years back, a friend found her teenage daughter vomiting in the bathroom and she believed that she was ill but on further enquiry, her daughter confided in her that her friend showed her a porn magazine. 

She went to the school and the particular girl was summoned and she said the magazine was given to her by her parent's driver! 

Honestly some parents are sleeping on duty and we all know what happens to people who sleep on duty. How does your child get that close to the driver right under your watch? 

I have an advice for parents, keep talking to your children, be in their lives and in their faces, be there for them, and pray for them always. They may disappoint you at some point but when it happens you will be consoled by the fact that you did all that was required of you as a parent and you wouldn’t hurt too much.

I had an experience recently with one of my sons and when we had a conversation about his action, I asked him one question, “Did I warn you against this particular behaviour?” he burst into tears and said “Yes mummy, you did”. We both cried and moved on and we bonded more throughout his punishment period. I have no doubt that he will stay away from any kind of trouble for a long time.

Parenting is not perfection; listening, making sure that nothing is left unsaid and paying attention may help. God help us!