Sissili: Under a blazing sun, the grounds of the Boura departmental high school resonated with the rhythm of a unique parade this Saturday. After six weeks of immersion in civic and patriotic values, the middle school students bid farewell to the program under the proud gaze of the president of the special delegation (PDS), Judith Diasso/Kanyala.
According to Burkina Information Agency, the event commenced at 2:30 p.m. with 513 trainees, divided into ten cohorts, standing in perfect formation. The commands from instructors, drawn from the Defense and Security Forces, rang out, breaking the silence with precision commands like "Attention!" and "About-face, left!" The students executed these commands flawlessly.
The teaching staff and authorities observed the teenagers who traded their school nonchalance for the poise expected of nation builders. The atmosphere was solemn yet filled with camaraderie. PDS Judith Diasso/Kanyala engaged the audience with a rhetorical question, to which the students responded in unison, showcasing the military vocabulary they had learned.
This engagement underscored the significant impact of the training. Abdoul Wahab Sanfo, a 9th-grade student, remarked, "Patriotism begins with simple actions, like not littering or respecting teachers. We feel more responsible." Catherine Yembo added that discipline had become their guiding principle despite initial challenges.
The success of this pilot phase stemmed from collaboration between education and the armed forces. Habib Bazie, the head of the Water and Forestry post and a supervisor, expressed satisfaction, noting that the modules instilled a shared sense of national pride. High school principal Louis Bako also observed a transformation in student behavior, with punctuality, order, and respect becoming the norm.
As the civic education session concluded, the PDS encouraged the students to be role models, hoping the lessons learned would spread widely. The ceremony ended with an atmosphere of camaraderie, as students enthusiastically shared their new skills, turning the playground into a hub of civic responsibility.