Manual labour revamped in primary schools

The idea of Manual Labour has long been abandoned especially in city Primary schools in Cameroon.

President Paul Biya in his address to the Youths of Cameroon on the eve of the 49th edition of the National Youth Day re-echoed that, “Manual labour, which has been neglected, will definitely need to be given its deserved place in primary school.”

But how serious will this be in most Primary schools especially those in cities like Yaounde and Douala where there is a general out-cry of limited space and the scuffle between parents and teachers who would hardly let their children work at school?

Mrs Achu Esther, Head Teacher of Government Bilingual Primary School Group 1 decried the fact that the absence of manual labour in city Primary schools will cause more harm than good on some pupils who are likely to be stranded someday should their parents depart from them.

The same cry was echoed by some staff of Parent’s National Educational Union (PNEU) Etougebe whose desire had been to create a garden that will help educate pupils on how plants are grown.

Apart from the problem of limited space for agriculture these staff also regretted the fact that parent’s attitudes towards manual work has not been encouraging.

According to them from past experiences parents have withdrawn their children from participating in cleaning the school environment. They cannot see any reason why these children should exercise manual labour at school when all is done for them in the house by their house helps.

Some of them consider their children too tender for such activities and would rather prefer that someone else be employed for such tasks.

According to primary school staff, the idea of Manual labour in Primary schools can only be restored especially in city primary schools, if the Ministry of Basic Education revisits the school’s curriculum which has for long erased “compound care,” a subject which stimulated pupils to clean their immediate surroundings.

If everything is put in place, the country is sure to bring forth responsible youths who are capable of building the Nation.