A school principal has urged parents to get more involved in the education of their children.
This was a plea by Eastbank High School principal, Isaac Tloloe as schools closed for the year.
Tloloe said it was disheartening for teachers and management at most schools in the township to be criticised by parents when their children did not do well. This when the parents barely knew their own children’s conduct and performance at school.
“Many parents renege on their parenting responsibilities on care and support of their children, leaving it up to the teacher to be surrogate parents,” he said.
“Most of them appear only on the first day of the first year’s school term and reappear when the child is in Grade 12 when they are anxious to see the child pass matric.”
He added that by this time it could be too late as the child might have developed negative habits and a bad attitude, making it impossible for them to pass. Tloloe said this shouldn’t be the responsibility of the school but the parents who didn’t support their children when they needed help.
Also, some parents did not visit the school when invited to talk about their child’s performance and conduct.
He said schools informed parents of these scheduled meetings but few parents attended. “These are crucial meetings parents miss out on, getting crucial information about expectations, school ethics like not coming late to class, feedback on performance and conduct, risks they should look out for, and interventions and support available elsewhere.”
The parents’ non-attendance also denied them an opportunity to develop working relationships with the teachers who are readily available to give tips to children on how to improve their performances through home study. He added that while some parents faced time constraints due to work commitments, it was no excuse to renege on monitoring their children’s education.
“Teachers are available to assist them with tips on how to support the children by encouraging them on study methods and groups, and the use of libraries,” he concluded.
