By Bukola Olamona
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A counselor , Mrs Modupe Adufe has advised parents and school managers to stop rushing children through academic career to prevent deficiencies in future.
Adufe who is also a teacher gave the advice during an interview with The Hope.
According to her, the brain has been designed to do certain things as humans grow stressing that children may not be able to do some things appropriately if it is beyond what their brains can cope with.
Adufe who stated that age is a determining factor in placing a child in class, condemned some parents and teachers who enroll students in schools without recourse to their ages.
“There are things brain is mature to do at a certain age and when it is exposed beyond that, it may be difficult to cope. Most of the students that are enrolled in school too early find it difficult to cope with learning when they get to senior secondary classes. They will be deficient in some areas.
“Although there are exceptional children who may seem to cope academically but it will definitely affect that child. The deficiency may not reflect now but it will show in future.
Adufe said no matter how brilliant a child is, he or she is supposed to pass through all the stages that he or she should pass through to be able to cope with everything that comes his or her way.
She attributed some social vices that youths are involved in to lack of maturity before exposure to freedom.
“In those days, a child whose hand can not touch the other ear is not qualified to go to school. He or she is still with the mother learning one or two things and by the time he is enrolled, he is mature enough.It wasn’t an error, it helped a lot.
“A child should get to six years or at least five years before he or she is enrolled in primary one and attain ten years before entering into secondary schools. I know of some schools in Akure here that will not enroll a child that is less than that”, she noted.
Adufe suggested that counseling unit should be established everywhere as it is done in developed countries so that parents can seek counsel before putting their wards in schools.
She also advised government to organize seminars for school managers at regular intervals on the subject particularly private schools where this is rampart.
The counselor commended the federal government’s policy that insisted on age 16 for anybody to be admitted into higher institution.
