Ways of improving discipline in schools

Nowadays, many people complain about the lack of discipline in schools. As we leaf through the newspapers, we often read about gang fights in schools, smoking among students, truancy and  vandalism of school property.
One of the ways of eradicating problems related to bad discipline in schools is to counsel problem students who create disciplinary
problems such as habitual truancy, dropping out of school or bullying. By counseling these troubled students regularly, experienced counsellors can encourage them to air their troubles and can then get to the root of the problem.
Most of these students are emotionally unbalanced and have low self-confidence. By helping them recover their self-esteem and their self-worth, the counsellors play an important role in helping them become more emotionally stable. Thus, they will be able to see things from a more disciplined and mature perspective.
Another way of decreasing disciplinary problems is to encourage participation in extra-curricular activities. This will ensure that free time after school is well-used by students. Through participating in sports activities, clubs and societies, they gain a sense of togetherness and learn good moral values such as cooperation, honesty, leadership and independence. This in turn means they will be more disciplined, take pride in their school and not cause disciplinary problems.
If all these steps are implemented firmly and fairly, no problems of discipline should arise. As such, school can be a safe and conducive place for learning and students can thrive in such an environment.