Dear Editor,

May is Child Month and there is elevated emphasis on the rights and well-being of our children during the month of May. There is an old adage, “It takes a village to raise a child”, which reminds us that children must be supported not only by their families, but also by the immediate community and the society at large to ensure they grow to achieve their full potential.

As a parent myself and an educator of over 25 years, I am very worried about the disparity in academic performance along gender lines. Our boys are struggling at all levels of the education system while, increasingly, girls are making waves in our schools, colleges, and universities. Something is not right! I am a firm believer that equal powers of reason and intellect is a universal heritage of humanity. Therefore, girls are not genetically brighter than boys. So why are our girls outperforming our boys at all levels of the education system? Even in areas long dominated by males, our females have been setting the standard.

Many studies have highlighted the gender dynamics in education and there is a growing body of research available to policymakers, educators, and administrators on how to reverse the trend of underperforming males. The research findings range from suggestions that schools be more male-friendly, that teacher training institutions redesign teaching methods with specific focus on boys, that teachers practice differentiated learning instructions, and that male teachers should be attracted to the teaching profession so they can be role models and mentors. Are we taking the research findings seriously?

The experts all agree that the solutions to change the tide of male underperformance have to be intentional and targeted with sustained effort. I am puzzled as to why this crisis among males is getting such little focus at the policy level. We can’t build a quality and just society where girls are outperforming boys by almost a ratio of 3:1.

The underperformance of our boys have grave implications for the social and economic development of our country. While I don’t have the data, anecdotal evidence suggests that the recent report of a significant decline in the birth rate is inextricably linked to the lack of suitable males who women would want to father their children.

Where will our successful females find equally successful males? What will happen to the family when males can’t care, provide, and protect? If the current trend continues, then the male specie will sit on the threshold of extinction!

Professor Errol Miller in his book Men at Risk stated that successful men have to extend themselves through mentorship of our boys. Indeed, it takes a village to raise a successful boy. As the proud father of a high achieving teenage boy, I can relate to the importance of mentorship in motivating boys towards excellence and wholesome values.

Our men are failing our boys, as in many cases mothers are left to raise their boys without fathers or even a father figure in the homes. Our society is far more accommodating to our girls in comparison to our boys. We must find creative ways to better engage our boys in schools and rebuild family life in order to reverse male underperformance. It is full time we put the many research findings to the test and seek to rescue our boys and save the male specie.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I celebrate the growth and development of our girls in school and the continued progress they are making, but if our boys continue to underperform dismally, then neither our girls nor our boys will have a bright future. That is the ugly truth! Academic success can be individually expressed, but successful living is collectively binding.

Let us get to work in building a strong educational foundation for our boys and change the narrative of male underperformance. Let us do it for posterity, the survival of civilisation depends on it. The word is always love!

Andre Wellington

Dean of discipline

andrewellington344@yahoo.com