Lately i have been thinking about why people choose boarding schools over day school in Uganda and elsewhere in the world
Cost
Of course it is so much easier monetarily to take a child to a boarding school, I mean it is cheaper to do so. Recent surveys of fees paid in and around Kampala are in the range of 900,000 Uganda shillings to 1,200,000 ie about 400 to 500 dollars for three months worth of keeping a child in a closed school environment.
The cost of maintenance in boarding on average, is much cheaper than feeding, clothing and transporting the same child at home. Other countries may differ but in East Africa that is what happens generally. Another advantage i have heard mentioned is that the child will gain independence. That argument is rather easily shot down in my opinion; you cannot teach a person independence by locking them up and limiting their movement within a ten acre radius or less for three months for years on end with short breaks in between. That i am sure of.
Building Mettle
Another plus for boarding school that people mention is for the bigger child to experience some form of hardship and build mettle. In that case I can say yes, but we need to make sure the hardship is not so hard as to break the individual's mettle. Since the parent is not present there, how will they know that the kind of hardship the child experiences is the one the parents think she needs? Many schools are known to be the bed of vices that many an autobiographer has written about. Beatings, food rationing, bullying, name it. Anyway despite the 'building mettle' reason which sounds good, one needs to be very careful on deciding to take a child to boarding school.
16 and older?
When a child is 16 and above, I could consider it and choose very carefully where they can go because at that age, they could be going off to College and can generally fend for themselves but for children younger than that, boarding school is really a no-no in my opinion. The best way to raise a child is to keep your child close and monitor and guide them the best way you can. My take on boarding school for children is still a 'No'.
I still truly love day schools.
Stay well in this New Year
Norah
