Why Boarding School Should Be Abolished

ENGLISH PROJECT WORK GROUP 4: BOARDING SCHOOLS SHOULD BE ABOLISHED (AGAINST THE MOTION) Mr. Chairman, Panel of Judges, Invited Guests, Accurate Time Keeper. Co Debators, Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to speak against the motion before the house that’ Boarding schools should be abolished. ’ Boarding schools, for some years now, have been given bad names because of fictitious stories and ideas. I would like to prove these untrue. My opponent tried in vain to give points on why boarding schools should be abolished. They expressed that boarding students have less free time. They also mentioned that extracurricular activities and athletic events fill up the student's hours. Not to forget, these same activities help in the development of mental and physical ability which helps a lot in academics as a whole. Day students do not really have such opportunities. Also, it is incorrect that boarding students are stressed and unhappy . This statement is very delusional. In 2007, a survey was taken nationwide on this topic on students who had been to both day and boarding learning institutions and 7 out of 10 said they were much happier on the whole in boarding school. With these points successfully refuted, I would also like to raise a few points on my own. Mr. Chairman, it is quite obvious that the level of discipline in boarding schools is much higher than that of day ones. This is because students are under the watchful eyes of teachers and other school workers. Their days are also planned out completely filled with tasks and chores which prepares them for the future. Being respected and accepted in society as an adult depends on the training you receive as a child. Such training can be acquired from boarding schools. Students are put in an environment where they learn to socialize and interact with their peers and school faculty. This is less easy in day schools. Mr. Chairman, academic success is much more prevalent in boarding schools. For over 20 years now, they have come out with an 89. % rate on the average which is much higher than the 74% percent results from day schools. This is as a result of better learning resources, availability of teachers at any time, attention to students and regular supervised study periods. Teenage students learn independence, responsibility, respectfulness, team work, amongst many other values which are very essential in the real world as an adult. For parents who lack time to be at home and take of their w ards due to busy schedules, boarding schools come to a huge sigh of relief to them. Not only are their children well taken care of in a safe environment, they also learn things they would have probably never learnt from them. It is therefore no surprise that most of Ghana creme de la creme in all sectors went to boarding schools. Mr. Chairman, to name a few, His Excellency John Atta Mills, former president John Kuffuor and former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and even their wards all attended boarding schools. Mr. Chairman, with these irrefutable points that have been advanced, there is no alternative but to vote against the motion that’ Boarding schools should be abolished. ’