School hours...how long should it be?

Recently, where I am, quite a few schools are extending their school hours. When I was schooling, the latest I would stay back would be 1.20 p.m. These days it's common to have schools run till 3 p.m. or beyond that....up till 5 p.m. if you count extra classes. Yup these kids spend 10 hours at school!

So, what is a reasonable length of time for school hours? In our hot and humid weather, any extension beyond the 1.30 p.m. would mark the beginning of a torturous stay. Imagine the sweaty and smelly bodies...shower facilities are rare in most day schools. Remember the recent report about 1/3 of our schools still without electricity? Try sitting in a classroom in this stifling and getting hotter by the year weather. Add into this equation the growling stomachs.....many kids still come to school with RM1 to school (the recent spike in the prices of goods have not helped also). So they only eat a small portion of rice during recess. Then no more money to spend. And into the same equation add the smelly and sticky body (and clothes). You get one tired kid housed in a weary body.

On paper, the answer to the equation would look really good. Long hours with co-curricular activities thrown in, etc, etc... But in reality, we compromise on a lot of things. And in the end, achieved so much less. I think the boys are the ones who suffer from this the most. They are not as compliant and they give in to their carnal nature much faster. Girls are generally more long suffering, I guess. Hungry kids, tired bodies and weary minds...you have perfect recipe for the Mat Rempits, Ah Longs, Minah Rempit, gangsters in the making....cos it takes real determination to stay awake and focussed.

Detractors would argue that longer school hours would keep most of the kids away from trouble...but I look at it as sort of a baby sitting service. Yet statistics show increasing number of kids graduating from SPM unable to write or count still. Or that more are lacking the skills to make them competitive in this global society we live in. School is not as fun as it used to be, I feel. Too many subjects, too long hours, too many expectations.......