Kidnappers, bad roads make foreign excursions attractive –Parents, schools

Sammie is a precocious boy of 12 and is in JSS3 in one of the upscale private secondary schools in Lagos. He is always very active in debating and quiz competitions and very often, he is included in his school team to various educational programmes across Lagos schools.

Recently, Sammie featured in an invitational quiz competition which was transmitted on television and by the quarter final stage, he came tops in his category. He dazzled the quiz panel by his vast knowledge of famous holiday resorts around the world. In fact, he made them realize that he did not only read about them, he said he had been to some during excursions embarked upon by his school.

His vast knowledge of the Premier league and famous players around the world amazed the panel and he became the star of the night.  But just when he was expected to nick the top prize, he flunked it just because of two questions on local current affairs.

When he was asked to state which of the Nigerian states Ikogosi Warm Spring is located, there was pin-drop silence. Everyone in the audience became curious when Sammie started fidgeting on his seat. He was crestfallen as he did not know the correct answer. Even though, his parents are from Ekiti State, the brilliant boy found the name Ikogosi very strange.

In some schools, excursion outside the country is organised every term; which means that a parent may have to provide N1.5m per session on holiday travels alone, excluding school fees, developmental fees and the so-called miscellaneous charges. For instance, a school in Ikorodu, Lagos, charged N492,500 per child for a holiday trip to France recently.

For some schools, it is an advertising instrument, as many parents are easily carried away by the claims that their children’s school make regular trips abroad.

Most people spoken to by our correspondent could not understand why any parent would spend so much on a child’s vacation.

But Mr. Boye Adeolu, a public school teacher, who watched the programme and narrated the story to Saturday PUNCH, attributed the boy’s predicament to early exposure of pupils of the rich in upscale schools to overseas excursions when they barely know what goes on around them locally.

“I don’t blame such children because nobody bothers to mention the local places to them in their schools again. Instead, they are made to realise that getting to know Buckingham Palace, Eifel Tower, White House or the Capitol is civilisation.

“In fact, when they don’t carry them to Europe, they are often ferried to tourist spots in places like Ghana, Senegal, South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Egypt and so on. But when we were still young, the tourist destinations we were exposed to are the Ikogosi Warm Spring, Olumo Rock, Erin Waterfalls, the various museums and parks around the country.”

A parent, simply identified as Busari, told Saturday PUNCH how he had been trying to wriggle himself out of a difficult situation such a foreign excursion organised by his child’s school put him.

He said, “My son came home to tell me that their teachers were taking them to London on excursion. I did not even take him serious until I was invited down to the school by the head teacher who intimated me with the foreign trip plan. He said each pupil was expected to pay N350,000 for the London trip. My excited son has not allowed me to have peace since then and I don’t know where to find that kind of money for an excursion. But I learnt many of the parents have paid up.”

He said, “Other parents argued that education had gone beyond national boundaries. They said globally, it is believed that pupils must see what is happening outside their borders because it enriches their experience. Though the Internet has made the world a global village, sight-seeing is important.

“They said pupils can easily discuss or relate with what they see. Excursion is part of education as it demonstrates in practical terms the reality of what the children have been taught in the classroom. Also, they argue that it exposes pupils to experiences that will help their academic pursuit.

“But the problem is that I can’t see the pupils getting the best knowledge of foreign environment as their own here. What happens is that they may end up half -baked because they neither have deep knowledge of their home environment nor that of the foreign place where they visit on mere sight-seeing.”

When some of the posh schools involved in such foreign excursion were contacted by our correspondent, they pleaded not to be quoted officially.

But a source in one of them told our correspondent that such excursions are basically educational.

He said, “Our school organises excursions abroad because it is an international school. The excursion is mainly for educational summits, where pupils interact with pupils from other countries in order to gain more knowledge, and classes are organised for them over there. But parents don’t have to engage in it if they don’t have the means. We don’t force anybody.”

Saturday PUNCH learnt  that some of the schools shun local excursions because many parents fear that their wards may be kidnapped.

One source said, “Most of the parents fear that their children may be over exposed if we start taking them around the local places in the name of excursion. In fact, they are worried that such children may be kidnapped by people that are close to them just to extort them.

“And if you look at the rate people kidnap for ransom nowadays, you will not blame them. You know that God forbid, if any child in our care is kidnapped, we are liable as well. We don’t take chances at all and our pupils are better for the trips.

“Apart from being able to fund foreign trips for their wards, they feel more relaxed that no one would plan such evil against them in a foreign country. The parents who are used to such foreign environments believe that developed societies abroad are organised where provisions are made for such purposes.”

The source, who is a house teacher in one of the upscale schools, said the state of Nigerian roads is another area of concern for parents.

“The rate at which accidents claim lives in Nigeria is appalling and if any parent does not want their children taken about on such roads, I don’t blame them. The loss of any child can be very devastating, more so if it occurs in the course of taking the child around for excursion.”

Other respondents told Saturday PUNCH that most of the tourist centres of old have long been abandoned by their minders.

Mr. Femi Hammond, a banker, said he would not allow any school to take his child on tour of any dilapidated tourist centre.

“I remember that my dad used to take us to the zoo in Ibadan in those days. Even if the zoo is still there, I doubt it whether it will still be in shape. If the various governments are serious, let them work on the historic places by providing good road network, security and electricity.

“These days when even your blood relations organise the kidnap of their cousins for ransom, I may not feel comfortable when my child is taken on any local excursion. I don’t want to take any risk that I will regret later.

“When I was admitted to the former Ondo State University in Ado Ekiti, I remember that we were taken round the town during our orientation programme visiting Oodua Textile Mill, the palace of Ewi of Ado Ekiti and other interesting spots.

“Excursion was a rich culture among the young ones in those days when everyone looked forward to embarking on one. But the reverse is the case nowadays. People do a lot of things for money now and I don’t want to open my eyes and put my children in danger. I prefer foreign trips where I can sleep in peace rather than waking up to learn that someone has kidnapped my child.