Poverty no excuse for ill-discipline

Education experts have issued some worrying commentary on the dysfunction being experienced at Benoni’s Wordsworth High School – as the formerly leading institution is wracked by lack of control, unfair punishments of pupils, drug taking and sexual harassment among the school’s teenagers.

Their assessment is that Wordsworth’s situation is a microcosm of what is happening in the broader state education sector. It’s a national problem.

Sometimes, teachers and even principals use bribes to get posts and, especially in the case of a head, lack the required administrative, management or leadership skills to run an organisation like a school.

Teachers are also not performing, or are so dispirited by the atmosphere where they teach that they’re leaving the profession altogether.

A common denominator in the decline in standards – and let’s call it that, because that’s what it is – is the abdication of responsibility at a number of levels.

Firstly, principals are not doing their jobs properly and run away from confrontation with problematic elements in their schools.

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Secondly, the school governing bodies are either ineffectual, or too interfering, to the point where they make no meaningful contribution.

But, when it comes to pupil behaviour, including bunking classes, drug taking and sexual harassment, then the finger has to be pointed at the parents.

While it is true that many families in poorer areas of the country battle to survive, there is still no reason that poverty should be used as an excuse for ill-discipline and loutish behaviour by young people.

Finally, there are more than enough school inspectors throughout out basic education system, so why are these problems not being identified and dealt with by them?

Is it because, as some well-run schools complain, they nit-pick on the “easy targets”?

The education department needs to start getting tough on problematic schools. We cannot let our kids down.

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