Board of Governors and Students’ Indiscipline Management in Church of Uganda Founded Secondary Schools in South Ankole Diocese

Abstract

This study was premised on the topic; “Board of Governors and Students’ Indiscipline Management in Church of Uganda-founded Secondary Schools in South Ankole Diocese. Specifically, to establish the different forms of students’ indiscipline in Church of Uganda-founded secondary schools, to examine the causes of students’ indiscipline in Church of Uganda-founded secondary schools and to assess the different students’ indiscipline management techniques the Board of Governors applies in Church of Uganda-founded secondary schools. The researcher hinged this work on Skinner’s operant conditioning theory which proposes that discipline should be rewarded in order to encourage more discipline while indiscipline should be punished to discourage it.  The researcher used questionnaires and an interview guide on a sample size of 196 respondents. Findings revealed that indeed students’ indiscipline exists and to qualify this, a number of different forms of students’ indiscipline were highlighted such as drug abuse, bullying, phone possession, stealing and striking, among others.  Several causes are attached to these forms of students’ indiscipline among them; peer pressure, family background, phone possession, Head teachers’ leadership style and influence of teachers, among others. The third objective assessed the techniques the Board of Governors was applying to minimize students’ indiscipline. Findings came out with a number of techniques among them application of school rules and regulations, guidance and counselling, use of suggestion box, student involvement in school policy formulation, assessing students’ records, good student welfare, recruitment of the right teachers, strengthening/empowering student’ bodies, sensitization of parents, utilization of other disciplinary committees like the staff disciplinary committee among others. Respondents recommended that among others that the Foundation body and other organs that nominate the Board of Governors must endeavour to nominate members who have an interest in the school, have knowledge of school administration, are accessible and have time for the school otherwise such a committee will be useless to the school that the management of indiscipline is the role of both the school and parents, that the responsibility of parents is not only to pay school fees and that school administrations should use committees in matters of students’ indiscipline right from the students’ committee to the Board of Governors sub-committee of discipline to avoid isolation and bias, that the Board of Governors should not listen to rumours about their schools, that the Board of Governors must be able to investigate and find out the truth before a decision is taken.