- Schools cannot build responsible learners through punishment or policies alone.
- Astiba Kebong’o argues that parents and educators must share responsibility for guiding children’s behaviour.
- As schools seek lasting solutions to indiscipline, she calls for consistent boundaries, counselling, mentorship and accountability.
Now that the dust has settled after a wave of unrest that tested the resilience of schools, parents, teachers and education administrators, the new term offers an opportunity for sober reflection.
The long holiday was not merely a break from classrooms; for many parents, it was a chance to reconnect with their children, listen to their concerns and reinforce values, boundaries and responsibility at home.
Schools, too, have had time to reflect, review their experiences and, hopefully, strengthen their systems for maintaining discipline and safeguarding learners.
The question we should now be asking is not simply who was responsible when things went wrong, but what can we collectively do to ensure that similar disruptions do not recur?
The answer cannot be found in punishment alone.
The banning of corporal punishment compelled schools to rethink discipline and search for approaches that correct behaviour while respecting the dignity and rights of the learner. Parental involvement, guidance and counselling, mentorship, peer counselling, school barazas, assemblies, restorative conversations and closer monitoring by class teachers have consequently become even more important.
But discipline is not the responsibility of the school alone.
It begins at home, is reinforced at school and is ultimately demonstrated by the learner.
A school may establish excellent rules, but if the home consistently excuses misconduct, the message becomes conflicted. Likewise, parents may instil admirable values at home, but if the school fails to provide consistent boundaries and guidance, those values can easily be eroded.
The responsibility for raising a disciplined learner must therefore be shared.
As schools seek to rebuild trust, order and a positive learning environment, perhaps the greatest lesson from the recent period of unrest is this: discipline works best when the adults responsible for children stop working in separate corners and start working as one team.
Parents must become partners, not defence lawyers
One of the most delicate aspects of learner discipline today is parental involvement.
Inviting a parent to school because a child has committed an offence should ideally be an opportunity for partnership. Yet there are occasions when parents arrive in a defensive mode. They listen primarily to the learner’s version of events and may immediately conclude that the school is unfair.
A parent’s instinct to protect a child is natural. But protection should not become protection from accountability.
There is a popular warning that deserves reflection: if you fail to discipline your child, you may one day have to hire a lawyer to defend that child in court.
It is deliberately provocative, but its underlying message is important. Children eventually leave the protective environment of the family and enter a society governed by laws, expectations and consequences. A parent who repeatedly excuses misconduct may unintentionally teach a child that rules can be negotiated whenever they become inconvenient.
Parents should therefore listen to their children — but they should also listen to the school.
Equally, schools must listen to parents and learners. A disciplinary matter should not begin with a predetermined verdict. The learner deserves to be heard, the parent deserves an explanation, and the school must act within established procedures.
The law recognises the parent’s role in the education and character development of children. Parents and guardians therefore cannot afford to regard discipline as a responsibility to be handed over to teachers once a child enters the school compound.
Parenting does not stop at the school gate.
Guidance and counselling departments are indispensable, but discipline cannot be outsourced entirely to the guidance and counselling teacher.
Every teacher is, in one way or another, a mentor and role model.
A learner who is constantly late may not simply be careless. A learner who suddenly becomes withdrawn may be experiencing difficulties at home. A learner who becomes aggressive may be struggling with peer pressure, anger, family challenges or other personal circumstances.
This is why guidance should become part of the culture of the entire school rather than an activity confined to a programme on the school calendar.
Teachers guide learners during lessons, assemblies, clubs, sports, informal conversations and other interactions. Sometimes one encouraging conversation with a trusted teacher can prevent a young person from making a decision that could alter the course of their life.
Peer counselling also deserves greater attention. When properly structured and supervised, it can help learners listen to, encourage and hold one another accountable.
Trust and respect among peers can become powerful tools in promoting positive behaviour.
Guidance is therefore not a one-off event. It is a continuous process requiring the collective effort of the entire school community.
The class teacher is the first line of support
In discussions about school discipline, the contribution of the class teacher is sometimes underestimated.
Yet the class teacher manages what can be described as the smallest administrative unit of the school — the class.
The class teacher interacts closely with learners and is often able to identify changes in behaviour before they become serious disciplinary concerns.
They know who is quiet, who is struggling academically, who is frequently absent, who has suddenly changed behaviour, who has leadership potential and who may need additional support.
They also develop an understanding of learners’ individual circumstances, personalities, strengths and challenges.
Consequently, the class teacher is often the first person to notice that something is wrong.
A well-managed class can make the work of the entire school administration considerably easier. When attendance is monitored, expectations are clear, academic progress is followed and emerging behavioural concerns are addressed early, small problems are less likely to escalate into major disciplinary cases.
The class teacher is also an important link between the learner, parents and administration.
When that link is strong, communication flows. When it breaks down, small problems can become large ones.
The class teacher is therefore not merely a keeper of a register or a transmitter of school notices. The class teacher is a mentor, monitor, communicator and an important first responder to emerging learner concerns.
Schools must also examine their own internal consistency.
It is difficult to demand discipline from learners when adults demonstrate contradictory standards.
If one teacher ignores lateness while another treats it as a serious offence, learners quickly learn to exploit the gap. If one teacher insists on respectful language while another routinely humiliates learners, the school’s disciplinary message becomes blurred.
Discipline therefore requires teamwork among teachers.
The staff must have a common understanding of school expectations and lawful disciplinary procedures. Teachers should communicate a consistent message and avoid undermining one another before learners.
A school cannot preach respect while practising disrespect.
It cannot demand honesty while adults conceal mistakes.
It cannot teach responsibility while teachers constantly shift blame.
Children learn as much from what adults do as from what adults tell them to do.
Firmness and kindness are not opposites
Psychologist Diana Baumrind’s influential work on parenting highlighted the importance of combining clear expectations and boundaries with responsiveness and warmth.
This provides a useful lesson for schools.
Discipline does not have to choose between kindness and firmness.
A teacher can say, “I understand why you did it, but it was still wrong.”
A parent can say, “I love you, but I will not defend misconduct.”
An administrator can say, “You have a right to be heard, but you are also responsible for your actions.”
That is firm discipline with humanity.
The objective is not to create learners who behave well merely because they fear punishment. The greater objective is to develop young people who eventually regulate their own behaviour because they understand responsibility.
Education policymakers and school leaders should continue strengthening positive, preventive and restorative approaches to discipline.
Teachers need continuous professional development in classroom management, adolescent behaviour, conflict resolution, child protection, mentorship and psychosocial support.
Parents also need support.
Parent meetings should not focus exclusively on academic results. They should provide opportunities to discuss discipline, digital behaviour, peer influence, substance abuse, absenteeism, emotional wellbeing, responsible citizenship and the changing needs of adolescents.
School barazas can be particularly valuable.
Instead of inviting parents only after something has gone wrong, schools can bring them together proactively to discuss emerging challenges and establish common expectations.
The Basic Education Act promotes participation and inclusiveness of parents, communities and other stakeholders in the development and management of basic education. This spirit should naturally extend to learner discipline.
Policymakers should also ensure that teachers and school leaders have adequate training and support to implement non-violent disciplinary approaches effectively. Removing corporal punishment without equipping schools with practical alternatives would leave a dangerous vacuum.
Discipline begins at home.
Schools cannot manufacture character from scratch.
The first classroom is the home.
Respect, honesty, responsibility, empathy, self-control and consideration for others should begin taking root in the family before the child walks through the school gate.
A school may spend hours teaching a learner about integrity, but if the learner constantly hears adults justify dishonesty at home, the school’s message becomes difficult to sustain.
Similarly, parents should not undermine legitimate school rules simply because their child complains.
There must be a united message:
“We love you. We will listen to you. We will protect you. But we will also hold you accountable.”
That is the kind of message that builds responsible citizens.
The home should therefore establish boundaries while the child is still young. Chores, respect for elders, punctuality, honesty, responsible use of technology and accountability for one’s actions are not merely family matters. They are foundations for citizenship.
Faith communities also have an important contribution to make.
Proverbs 22:6 urges parents to train children in the way they should go.
Training requires patience, consistency, modelling and guidance.
Hebrews 12:11 acknowledges that correction may not always be pleasant at the moment, but it can ultimately produce positive results.
At the same time, biblical discipline should never be interpreted as permission for cruelty or abuse. Ephesians 6:4 calls upon parents to bring up their children with appropriate instruction rather than provoking them to anger.
The message is therefore one of loving correction, not violence; boundaries, not humiliation; guidance, not abandonment.
Schools must establish clear and consistently applied rules. Class teachers should be empowered to monitor behaviour and intervene before minor concerns become major disciplinary cases.
Guidance and counselling should involve the entire teaching fraternity rather than one department, while parents should be engaged early instead of being summoned only after a learner commits a serious offence.
Schools should strengthen peer counselling and mentorship programmes, and learners should be given appropriate opportunities to explain themselves and participate in resolving conflicts.
Teachers must model the behaviour they expect from learners, while assemblies, barazas, clubs, religious programmes and other forums should be used continuously to cultivate values.
Schools should also maintain reliable communication channels with parents so that concerns are addressed before they escalate.
Above all, disciplinary measures should be lawful, proportionate, consistent and directed towards correcting behaviour while preserving the learner’s dignity.
We must stop asking, “Who is to blame?”
Perhaps the more useful question is:
“What can we do together to help this child change?”
The teacher has a role.
The class teacher has a role.
The guidance and counselling department has a role.
The school administration has a role.
The parent has a role.
The learner has a role.
The peer group has a role.
The community and faith leaders have a role.
When these pieces work together, discipline becomes a shared responsibility rather than a battlefield.
The recent wave of unrest should not merely become another chapter in the history of school disturbances. It should become a lesson.
Parents have had an opportunity during the holiday to reconnect with their children. Schools have had an opportunity to reflect and strengthen their systems. Teachers have had an opportunity to reconsider how they identify and respond to emerging behavioural concerns.
The opportunity now is to turn those lessons into action.
The banning of corporal punishment should therefore not be viewed merely as the removal of the cane. It should be understood as an opportunity to build a more intelligent culture of discipline — one founded on dignity, accountability, dialogue, consistency and partnership.
A disciplined learner is not necessarily one who fears punishment. A truly disciplined learner is one who gradually develops self-control even when nobody is watching.
That is the ultimate goal of education.
Parents should not merely protect children from consequences. They should teach them how to become responsible enough to face consequences.
Teachers should not merely correct misconduct. They should help learners understand why their choices matter.
Administrators should not merely manage disciplinary cases. They should build systems that prevent problems from escalating.
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And schools should not walk alone.
When the home and school speak with one voice, discipline becomes more than punishment — it becomes a pathway to character, responsibility and responsible citizenship.
Astiba Kebong’o
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