Cases of murder due to unrequited love have hit news headlines with a lot of disbelief. The victims have turned out to be young people, who like any other adult, were trying to carve their niche in their social life. The aspect of dating and romantic relationships, we must agree, is very sensitive, as this is the first step in falling in love, getting married, and starting a family which is the foundation and continuation of the society.
It is, therefore, of importance to choose the right partner. It is through this courtship that one tries to know what to look for and what to avoid in a partner, and how to be a good spouse. This takes practice and attention to both the parties. However, young people are falling victims due to lack of guidance in matters relationships.
They lack skills on how to handle rejection and when their love is not reciprocated they resort to drastic measures to fight their frustrations. Learning institutions should play a central role of helping young people cope with life after college and navigate through relationships by teaching essential life skills. As one of the subjects taught at the primary school level, minimal effort is put in practice by the learners as they progress.
Our current academic curriculum doesn’t teach aspects necessary to succeeding and thriving in the social environment. It is okay to fumble through relationships because it provides a learning experience. However, some guidance from teachers, peers and other educators could help avoid pitfalls during the learning experience.
Such skills as stress management, social media safety and survival skills should be given a lot of consideration in our curriculum. These and others already incorporated will prepare young people for real life scenarios.
University of Eldoret
