A professor at the University of Lagos, Prof. Adebayo Oladipo, has called for dedicated school-family communication structures to support children of military officers whose fathers are deployed away from home.
Oladipo made the call while delivering a lecture at the National Military Fathers’ Leadership and Family Well-Being Summit, organised by the 2.0 SHE Safety and Health Initiative, an NGO, on Thursday in Lagos.
The don, who is the Dean of the Faculty of Education, said structured communication could strengthen the relationship between military children, their schools and deployed fathers.
He suggested that schools in barracks communities establish systems that allow schools to regularly communicate with deployed fathers, where possible, through letters, recorded messages or scheduled calls.
“Given the evidence that communication quality buffers some of the negative effects of separation, schools serving barracks communities could adopt structured reporting to deployed fathers, whether through periodic letters, recorded messages or scheduled calls,” he said.
According to Oladipo, such measures would allow fathers to maintain their protective and parental roles despite being physically separated from their families.
He also recommended counselling and mentorship programmes as permanent services in military schools and barracks communities, particularly for boys entering adolescence while their fathers are away.
He said such support would help address challenges relating to discipline, emotional wellbeing and peer influence during the period.
Oladipo further urged military authorities to adhere more strictly to existing rules on the frequency, notice and duration of postings to give families greater stability.
He said predictable postings would enable spouses and schools to prepare adequately for a father’s absence instead of facing repeated disruptions.
The don said military deployments should no longer be treated solely as operational decisions, arguing that their impact on families must also feature in policy considerations.
“Deployment decisions cannot continue to be treated as a purely operational matter; they must be treated as a family matter as well,” he said.
He called for minimum notice periods before relocation or deployment and urged authorities to consider the cumulative impact of prolonged separation on children.
According to him, the longer fathers remain away from home, the greater the potential risks to their children’s attachment, mood and academic performance.
Oladipo also called for a formal education continuity protocol for children of military personnel.
He said the system should provide for standardised transfer of academic records, priority placement in receiving schools and structured catch-up support whenever military families relocate.
He stressed that these measures would help reduce the educational and emotional disruptions military children may experience as a result of their parents’ postings.
source: NAN
