A case for balance in handling the Lekki British School incident

On the afternoon of Wednesday, June 14th, 2017 during lunch time at the Lekki British School, Lagos and prior to their science lesson, one of the students, (name withheld), went into the science laboratory and obtained an ingestible liquid.  

He poured it into the water bottle belonging to a fellow student (name withheld). Fortunately this bottle never got back to the girl following the prompt intervention of other students and teachers...

 

The school immediately swung into action and after thorough investigation and deliberations and in the best interest of all concerned especially agitated parents, the offending student was asked to leave the school premises to allow tempers to calm down.  

 However, the incident has brought to light a few pertinent issues which we would like to address through this medium.

First, the children in question are pre-teens:  eleven and twelve respectively. These are precious jewels with a potentially bright future. While it may be right for any offended parent to ask for “corrective actions” to be taken against an offending child when a situation arises, it is also pertinent for us not to forget that as pre-teens, this is the age at which children are beginning to experience hormonal outbursts which manifests in different forms. 

It is therefore the collective responsibility of the school, parents and relevant authorities to manage such situations, and ensure that each child including the offending one realizes their full potential.  In line with the schools motto “a brilliant future” the most important task for us is to guide and counsel children to become useful to their parents and the society at large. 

Secondly, no student at the school has access to any harmful, dangerous or noxious substances which are kept locked away under the control and supervision of chemistry teachers and technicians. That is standard procedure.

Thirdly, we would like to use this medium to reiterate that the use of social media should be restricted to constructive information at all times but most especially when it involves children whose future need to be protected. 

At this point we want to commend the Lagos State Government, particularly office of Quality Assurance and the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team for coming to Lekki British School to verify and have firsthand assessment of the incident. This development is very reassuring as it shows  that the State is concerned and interested. If necessary we are willing to work with the Lagos State Government Social Welfare System, to provide necessary support as and when required. This we would do through guidance, counseling and close monitoring. 

At Lekki British School, every Child has a brilliant future. We will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that every child that comes into our care attains his or her full potentials.

 As an international school we teach our students to be self-disciplined and responsible individuals. 

To face the challenges of life with courage and wisdom, a school must be a beacon of hope where students feel secure, confident and get equal opportunity to build their future. Therefore the offending student was allowed to complete the examination in a monitored setting in order to have an academic record for the future. We did not want to throw the baby out with the bath water.

Lekki British School is one of the top schools in Nigeria in terms of facilities, pedigree and academic achievements and it is internationally recognized and affiliated. We have well trained and certified teachers who, along with our support staff, provide excellent pastoral care and individual student attention. We have strong values of discipline, integrity, respect for others and a robust approach to conflict resolution. Lekki British is a Member of COBIS – Council of British International Schools.

 Member of AISA – Association of International Schools of Africa and we have 16 years of successful existence – high academic performance and placements of students at international universities. We want all parents, students and prospective students  to feel rest assured that we are experienced at child life building and our goal is to produce children with a well rounded education.

Signed:

MANAGEMENT

8 July 2017