The Delta State Government has disclosed that a bill already aimed at prohibiting parents from visiting their children’s schools during school hours is currently before the state House of Assembly.
The Chief Inspector of Education, Ika South Local Government Area of the state, Mrs O.M. Olushola, disclosed this at a special edition of the Parents and Teachers Association meeting held on Wednesday at Alihame Mixed Secondary School.
A teacher of the school, Sunday Ofah, was allegedly killed a few weeks ago by one of the pupils’ parents.
The suspect, who is currently in the police net, was said to have stormed the school and allegedly attacked the teacher for disciplining his son.
Olushola said the meeting was part of efforts to address parents on the issue of the code of conduct following the death of a teacher of the school allegedly killed by a parent.
She said, “Teachers are not monsters but also parents trained to take care of the students under their custody within the hours of 7.30am to 2pm, and teachers train people to become somebody in society.
“I want to let you know that a bill is already in the Delta State House of Assembly to prohibit parents from coming to school during school hours.
“Even when a parent has a genuine report against a teacher, the report should be directed to the principal of the school as a matter of due process.”
She disclosed that the state government is already doing something to help the family of late Ofah, who died in active service, while also urging parents to assist the family in the interim.
The Chairman of the Nigerian Union of Teachers, Issac Arimokwu, noted that teachers are well-trained to take good care of children kept under their custody, advising parents to allow them to do their work.
“There is no punitive measure in education that is designed to kill any child but to improve them, calling on parents to be mindful of how they react to reports brought to them by their children about their teachers,” he added.
Speaking at the PTA meeting, the principal of the school, Mr Cletus Ujedibie, said with the turn of events that took place, teachers, parents, and students had learnt their lessons.
He urged the teachers not to be demoralised in putting in their best in the training of the children under them, describing the death of one of their teachers as an unfortunate event and praying that such will never repeat itself in the school or elsewhere.
The high point of the meeting was the signing of an agreement by all parents of the school that any parent found in the act of fighting a teacher would be arrested along with his or her child and handed over to the police or any other law enforcement agency for prosecution.
