Advertisement

 The Headmaster of Obrachire SHS, Mr Kwame Alorvi (right), interacting with the President of NAGRAT, Mr Christian Addai-Poku.

Excessive community interference in school affairs worrisome - NAGRAT president

The President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Mr Christian Addai-Poku, has expressed concern about excessive interference of some communities in the affairs of educational institutions.

He said although communities could influence some decisions in schools through lobbying, it did not lie in their authority to issue threats and cause confusion in such institutions.

“We have had stories of traditional leaders flogging teachers, vandalising schools and organising attacks on educational workers. That is not the way to develop a community school”, he stressed.

Mr Addai-Poku was addressing the 25th anniversary and first speech and prize-giving day of the Obrachire Senior High School in the Central Region.

It was on the theme “Transformational Leadership: The Key to successful development of a Community Senior High School”.

Mr Addai-Poku said in transforming a community school it behoved on other stakeholders to play their respective, supportive roles in helping develop the school, adding that “PTA’s, past students, traditional interest, also had major roles to play”.

Interference

He noted however, that their role was to support but not to interfere and mentioned several instances where schools had experienced excessive interference from the community in its affairs.

 Mr  Addai-Poku underscored the need to draw the line between participation and interference saying it was not the work of the community to appoint the headmaster or teachers into the school neither was it their duty to transfer or dismiss teachers.

He said community leaders could influence such decision through lobbying but not through threat and intimidation.

He said the schools could be transformed if heads were firm in their approach to issues and exhibit high level of self-confidence.

“If heads are not firm and confident people may begin to question their authority and even disobey their orders. To instill discipline the head must not easily display emotions but rather appear calm even in the face of provocation”.

Government support

The Chief Director of the Ministry of Education, Mr Enoch Cobinnah, in an address said the occasion provided the opportunity to reflect on the achievement over the period under reference, and strategise for the future.

He said many schools had been transformed by effective collaboration and leadership provided by headmasters and employing good management practices.

He said as a means of expanding access and improving equity to secondary education, the government had embarked on the community Day Senior High School programme.

He said under the programme, the government had started the construction of 123 schools, saying the Obrachire School was selected as one of the beneficiary schools.

Mr Cobinnah announced that the project would invest an amount of $320,000 to upgrade facilities in the school and improve performance.

The headmaster of the school Mr Kwami Alorvi, lauded the forebears for the vision in donating a piece of land for the establishment of the school.

Challenges

Mr Alorvi said the school lacked an assembly hall to accommodate student or parents at meetings, stressing that it currently held its morning and closing assemblies in the open under the scorching sun.

He said church services which molded the morals of these young ones were also held in the open sometimes under the threat of scorpions.

Placement

He said last year, out of the 710 students placed in the school by the computerised school selection and placement system (CSSPS), only 71 reported, with the rest of the students admitted outside the CSSPS list, with unimaginable grades.

“As if this was not enough, most students who were offered admission reported to school during the second term. As at yesterday, only 101 first year students had reported in school”, he said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • The Headmaster of Obrachire SHS, Mr Kwame Alorvi (right), interacting with the President of NAGRAT, Mr Christian Addai-Poku.

Connect With Us : 0242202447 | 0551484843 | 0266361755 | 059 199 7513 |