Some educationists in Northeastern Nigeria have ascribed the spate of early delinquency in schools and societal decay to the failure of parents to ensure proper discipline and moral upbringing of their children from their homes and respective families.
A cross section of the educationists who spoke in separate interviews with newsmen in Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Jigawa and Yobe, attributed the ugly trend to the parental failure to mentor their children.
The experts spoke while reacting to a survey on the recent incidents involving some students of the Chrisland School and Dowen College.
Mr Richards Michael, a parent in Bauchi, blamed the moral decadence of students, especially secondary school pupils on parental failure.
‘Presently; parenting has gone digital where parent-child relationship is being expressed through cell phones.
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He went on to add that; ‘Some parents don’t care who their children phoned and the type of conversation they have.
‘This act impacted negatively on the lives of children thereby exposing them to vices and other indecent acts.
‘You can’t fault the schools because their roles are minimal. The entire thing rests with parents. Before your child goes out in the morning, did you check his bag to know what the contents are?
‘Also, as a parent, do you have time for your children and do you spend time with them?
‘Do you talk about the reality of life with them? As a mother, how close are you to your female children? Do you tell them about things to do and not to do?
‘Parenting these days has gone digital. Because parenting has failed, moral decadence has entered and the devil now has the way to go into our children to make them behave in a strange way,’ he said.
Micheal stressed the need for parents to go back to the old ways of parenting to address the menace.
Mr Abdullahi Yelwa, a lecturer with the Department of Crime Management and Control, Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic, Bauchi, said that parents gave preference to immorality in the name of civilisation, freedom and globalisation, among others.
He alluded that some parents were rich to ensure proper upbringing of their children but they were busy, adding that they go to work every morning and left them to their own mercies.
‘Children need to be guided by elders, unfortunately, nobody is there for them. The children have access to all sorts of phones and internet devices and that’s how they visit different web sites watching whatever they feel like.
‘You know children, whatever they see, they will remember and put it into practice. This is why you see little children involved in one sexual scandal or the other.
In a similar reaction; Mr Almajid Jamal, a lecturer, Abubakar Tatari Ali Polytechnic, Bauchi, also blamed the situation on parents, adding that they abandoned their responsibilities and failed to instill proper training in their children.
Also, Dr Daniel Musa, a former Head of Service in Gombe State, said the incident which involved some students of the Chrisland School was a clear demonstration of the destruction of family values occasioned by serious neglect of family responsibilities by parents in favour of personal pursuit of life.
According to him, parents no longer monitor the activities of their wards on social media.
He said that some parents especially the rich pampered their children with money as a result they engaged in vices like alcoholism, drug abuse, unprotected sex among others.
Africa Today News, New York