Teacher questions ban on student hustlers

A teacher is questioning whether schools are sending mixed messages to students by preaching entrepreneurship while punishing youngsters who sell items on the compound.

The educator, who teaches at a prominent Corporate Area high school, said students are increasingly finding creative ways to earn money, selling everything from sweets, chips and juice to baked goods, bracelets, stationery and other accessories. While there does not appear to be a national ban prohibiting students from operating small businesses at school, individual institutions have enforced no-vending rules. As far back as 2014, the education ministry said it was working to regulate illegal vending on and around school compounds, describing unregulated vending as a potential health and security hazard.

The teacher believes an outright prohibition on students selling ordinary items can overlook both the business skills they are developing and, in some cases, the difficult circumstances driving them to sell.