How useful is vacation for school children?

                By Kain Blessing Tung* 

      Holidays or vacations play a significant role in the life of pupils and students and almost all of them would protest if there are no breaks between school terms or semesters for universities.

     Simply defined, a holiday period is the suspension of work that you have been involved in for quite sometime. Vacation for scholars is the period set aside for the suspension of study or calls it book work.

Mother takes  kids on vacation  to Limbe Zoo for  leisure and tourism

      The whole idea for holidays is arguably for workers or school children to rest and or engage i n other recreational activities.

       The debate whether scholars should completely relax or keep themselves busy during holidays has been on-going, but not without interesting arguments.

      Anumbong Claudia Meh, 39, a Molyko-based seamstress says that during the vacation her daughter, aged 18, runs a telephone booth where her monthly allowance for school is raised. To her, the issue of staying at home during holidays doing nothing is sheer laziness.

      According to hair dresser and resident of Muea town, Elodie Annette, 22, students who relax at home during the holiday should be those from wealthy backgrounds. She argues that students from such homes would always get their school needs supplied to them by their parents and they are always ready for school resumption.

      Elodie advises that, if well-to- do students are relaxing at home during vacation, those from underprivileged families must not emulate them. Rather, she notes,they should engage in income-generating businesses  so that they can raise some money to assist their parents in procuring their school needs.

     “The underprivileged are bound to work hard to fend for themselves, if not they will be found wanting and might end up as drop-outs because of lack of parental support.”

     Corroborating the Elodie, Mr. Lyonga Emmanuel, 47, principal of a lay private institution in Tiko says holiday period is a time when students -whether rich or poor, should venture into businesses. Mr. Lyonga thinks that the income students especially girls obtain during the vacation will help them in so many ways.  The principal notes that when a girl-student is dependent, she is needy and exposed to many negative influences. Her needy nature may cause her take her boy friend or friends for a bank, thereby always asking for money from them. He adds that when lady is too dependent on her boyfriends for money, they may want to sexually take advantage of her.He adds that the men\boys may consider needy ladies as pests.

    “Most girls are pests to their boyfriends because they rely on them for even basic needs; but this should not be the case if they are hardworking and can be able to raise some money for themselves,” notes the principal.  Mr. Lyonga says he is appreciative of all hardworking students, and encourages all to be so.

    On the other hand, there are some people who strongly believe that holiday is a period for leisure, recreational activities and relaxation; that it is a period for students to relieve themselves of stress associated with book-work.

     According to 42-year old father of four Eseme Max Mpako, who resides in Molyko-Buea, two of his daughters are presently studying computer programs while the two others attend holiday classes.

    Mr. Mpako says he is totally against young scholars hawking during the vacation.

“I have heard of how female students disappear mysteriously. Hawking during the holiday is dangerous especially for girls who are exposed to many negative things. Rape cases are very common during this period too”. He added that if young girls who about hawking are not very careful during these holidays’ days, they can end up getting pregnant, jeopardizing the future.

    To   Elvis Chetey, a former student and now self-employed, “The Bible says there is time for every thing. It is holiday period and it is meant for rest and relaxation, let it be so. There is this saying that learning without playing makes jack a dull boy”

    Whichever positions people take on this debate, what is more important is for both parents and scholars to do during holidays what is good for their overall health, what is morally and legally correct; and above all, what guarantees their own security and that of others .After all, it is nice to do the right thing because it is right.
 

      *Kain Blessing Tung is a University of Buea Journalism student