PREMPEH IN DISARRAY, PART II: THE 50, 000 CEDI CONTROVERSY

Monday, November 28, 2005

On Wednesday, October 26, exactly one week before the boys were to leave for midterm holidays, the Headmaster made a very stunning announcement.

He told the Sofoline boys that "each boy is to bring C50, 000 for the renovation of Science labs." The Headmaster aked Science and non-Science students alike to bring this sum from their parents when they return from holidays on November 2nd.

This was seen as a bizzare request because business and arts students NEVER use science labs, but the headmaster felt that they should all pay the money. It defies logic because while science students at Prempeh today pay C860,000, the arts and business students pay C840,000 and C780,000 respectively.

Obviously the reason for the lower tuition costs for the arts and business students is the lack of laboratory-related expenses associated with their courses. Now, the headmaster says, "lab or no lab, you go pay!"

The staff protested and condemned the headmaster for charging this fee. According to some of the masters, they were responsible for the deficiency of equipments and chemicals in the labs because they used it for their own private classes -- a program which Prempeh boys do not benefit. "How could you charge Prempeh students for apparatus that non-Prempeh students use?" they asked. Though the masters condemned the headmaster, he refused to budge.

In fact, it is for this very reason that some of the masters are not on good terms with the headmaster. It is hard to find a staff member who support the headmaster these days.

A late night phone call from our webmaster to the senior prefects was the only gesture that prevented the Prefects from sending a report to TV3's nationally televised Viewers Comments that week.

We advised them to hold onto it for the time being, to allow us to publish it here in lieu of taking it to the media. This is because we Amanfoo in Kumasi get humiliated when we hear radio commentators and callers degrade our school with comments like, "Ei, with the introduction of the new computer-based admissions system, which eliminates all forms of bribery, how is Prempeh's headmaster going to survive?" Such despicable comments, however embarassing, were aimed at our headmaster on the Kumasi radio stations all throughout the month of September.

Which is why we were reluctant to publish it here, thinking the staff could succeed in changing the Headmaster's opinion.

But the man refused to budge and now, it has come to this: a prefect's revolt. Not only has the man lost support of his staff and students, his prefects are no longer on his side. Furthermore, his very own hand-picked Senior Housemaster is not speaking to him.