Fond memories of Presec, Legon (1)
It was not by design that I found myself teaching at the Presbyterian Boys Secondary School, Legon, (popularly known as Presec) at the beginning of the 1972/73 academic year. It was rather through some circumstances which I will explain later.
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The three years I spent at Presec as a teacher witnessed some of the most exciting moments of my early life.
In any case, I never planned to be a professional teacher. I only decided to go and teach when I left the University of Ghana, Legon, in 1970 because I knew it would guarantee me accommodation, which was a big problem for any fresh graduate at the time.
My destination after Legon was my alma mater, Konongo/Odumasi Secondary School (KOSS), where I wanted to teach for only a year and prepare myself to travel outside for further studies. I put in a lot of efforts to ensure this and got admission to some American universities. I had friends in the USA who were ready to take care of my fees as soon as I got to God’s Own Country.
However, this was not to be. It was a case of man proposing and God disposing. Midway through the academic year I had a serious attack of jaundice. I thought I was lucky to have survived. I was admitted to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi on two occasions.
When I was discharged the first time, the doctor told me to go and rest, but my headmaster came for me in Kumasi and since it was almost time for exams, my students started stressing me for tutorials. I became sick again and was rushed back to KATH.
By the time I got out of hospital, the third term had ended, so I had enough time to rest. I had never been so sick before and had never gone on admission at any hospital in my life.
Abandoned trip
At this stage I had to abandon every idea of travelling abroad in order to take better care of myself. As a result of what I saw at the hospital, I became interested in the type of food I ate, avoiding fatty food, which I still do, and determining what we eat at home. This has helped me a lot.
As a result of my health situation, I decided to stay on for one more year at KOSS. It was during my second year of teaching that the University of Ghana announced that it was going to establish a postgraduate School of Communications to train journalists. It was good news. If Legon was going to start such a programme, why should I bother myself to travel outside.
Journalism
Journalism was my main interest and that was what I intended going to study in the US, so if I could have it at home, why travel outside for it?
During my first year of teaching, I enrolled with the MacMillan School of Journalism in Britain and went through the whole course, obtaining a Diploma in Journalism though correspondence. It was the same MacMillan which was brought down to Ghana by Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah to establish the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) in 1958.
Now my whole focus was on the proposed School of Journalism and Communications which was to open in October 1972. I was determined to be one of the pioneer students.
I made my intentions known to Abu Abarry, whose nick name was Abu Dollar. He was one of the best friends I made at Legon. He was a product of St Augustine’s College, Cape Coast. He joined me at Commonwealth Hall in October 1968 when I was in my second year. Being a Zongo boy like myself, even though he was raised at Cow Lane in Accra, we got on very well with each other.
When Abu left Legon in 1971 he went to teach at Presec, Legon, while pursuing his Master’s degree in English. When he got to know that I would be returning to Legon in 1972 he advised me to apply to teach at Presec so that I would combine teaching and studying as he was doing.
As I have often said in this column, those were the days when anybody interested in teaching could go to see a headmaster of any school with his credentials.
Abu asked me to quickly see Mr E. K. Datsa, the headmaster, one of the very best. Presec was to open its Sixth Form Department in September 1972 and the school needed teachers with sixth form experience to come on board.
I think Mr Datsa was impressed when we met and he gave me an appointment and also assured me of accommodation. That was how I transferred from KOSS to Presec in September 1972.
However, the School of Communications at Legon did not take in students for the 1972/73 academic year. That year was used to fully establish the school, with some American professors and other ancillary staff coming in to do the pioneering work.
So I began my third year of teaching at Presec from September 1972. It was something I didn’t bargain for but I gave it a good shot. The first batch of sixth formers reported in October and I taught those offering history at “A” Level European History while I handled General Paper for both Arts and Science students. I also taught those in Form Four African History while I did some English teaching in the lower forms.
Accommodation
I met some wonderful and hardworking teachers at Presec. There were very few bungalows on campus, so most of us were accommodated in a cluster of private bungalows at a place called Peace Villas, not more than two kilometres away from the main campus.
Most of us at Peace Villas were bachelors. The school bus would pick us every morning at about 7 a.m. and drop us after classes. I remember I shared a bungalow with Mahama Jedua, a science graduate from the University of Cape Coast who much later was to enter the First Parliament of the Fourth Republic in 1993, representing Bole Constituency.
Jedua was such a jolly good fellow and we got on well with each other. The other teachers were also wonderful and we had quite a good time at Peace Villas.
At this time in the early 70s, there were few buildings between Presec and Madina junction. Everywhere was bush and desolate. The road leading from Legon to Aburi was not all that busy, as traffic was light.
I still remember during break time, which lasted 15 minutes, some of us would pack ourselves in Mr Kofi Klaye’s car and drive to Oyarifa, some eight kilometres away. There was a popular fufu spot there with bush meat light soup to go with, and we would always go for the mid-day meal.
Readers would not believe that we would drive to Oyarifa and back to school after the meal of fufu within 15 minutes. It was an easy passage without any hindrances. I am sure today it would take more than 30 minutes to drive from Presec to Oyarifa.
I don’t think I can forget the teachers who joined Mr Klaye on a daily basis to Oyarifa just for a taste of fufu with bush meat. Among them were Mr Edward Mensah, a native of Worawora, who later left for Uganda to go and teach; Mr B. T. Akrong, the sports master; Mr Awotwe Pratt and Francis Mawuko, the French teacher.
Other notable teachers were Mr Atua Afari and Mr E. K. Apeadu, both of whom much later became headmasters. There were also Mr S. Akoto, head of the history department; Mr K. Asigbetse, Mrs Mary Jackson and Miss Ransolina Sawyer.
Mr Datsa, the headmaster, was a very interesting character who used to tell so many stories even at assembly, always expressing himself in geographical terms, since he studied geography.
One story of his I would never forget was about a teacher who came to teach under him at Krobo Odumase for only a year. He came to teach with his “A” Levels but he caused a lot of problems in the school, thinking that he was only there for a year.
Mr Datsa would always tell us that the world was like a meandering river. If you crossed it at one point you would meet it again somewhere, so it was wise not to spit into it or say anything derogatory about the river since it could turn its anger on you at the next point of crossing.
Mr Datsa then told us how the young teacher after a year left for further studies abroad. Now when he applied for his first job, his prospective employers realised that there was only one particular year when he worked. They, therefore, sent a letter to the school for some information about the young man’s conduct.
The headmaster would then shout, “that the young man never knew that the world was like a meandering river which he would cross at different points.
“Now the young man’s fate was in my hands. It was my turn now to pay him back in his own coin,” Mr Datsa used to tell us.
However, he never told us what he wrote about the request from abroad about his former teacher.
Mr Datsa was such a father figure, full of humour, but he was a great administrator and laid a sound foundation for Presec at Legon. On his retirement at the end of the 1972/73 academic year, Mr Datsa was succeeded by Mr Apeadu in an acting capacity for a year.
