SNR HOUSEMASTER AND HEADMASTER ARE NOT SPEAKING
Friday, October 28, 2005
Reports reaching us indicate the Senior Housemaster and the headmaster are not on speaking terms.
According to one of our sources, the Senior Housemaster Atiemo feels aggrieved that the headmaster recently
screamed or shouted at him angrily.
According to Prefects who have observed this trend in public, the Senior Housemaster ignores the Headmaster when
he sees him around. Sometimes he says hello with a sardonic grin on his face and walks off.
So what if the headmaster gets angry at the man he appointed to that position? In fact, prempeh.org feels that the headmaster is
considered very weak by his staff and should get angry more often. Not only should he get angry more often, he should endeavour to transfer
out of the school any man who is not performing.
When a senior official in the administration revealed to us that the headmaster lost
his temper over Prempeh's recent defeat in the Ghana Science Association Science Quiz in Accra and
consequently launched a verbal attack on Mr. Kupo for "losing to a school like Aburi Girls," our first response was "halleluyah!". That is the stuff
great headmasters are made of. And that is what we expect from our Headmaster. The Headmaster should introduce a perform-or-get-out policy at Sofoline.
Mr. Atiemo should remember that he was hand-picked by the Headmaster for the Senior Housemastership position
probably because the Headmaster thought he could work well with him, so if he feels he can no longer get along with his boss, then the best thing for him
to do is to step down.
As Senior Housemaster of Prempeh College, he is supposed to be the liaison between the Headmaster and the students. By holding this position he holds the interests
of the students in his hands. The welfare of the students should be paramount.
How can he help solve the boys' problems if he cannot communicate with the headmaster?
Students are hungry
There are so many perceived deficiencies in Mr. Atiemo's management of the boarding house.
Take for example the starvation of students at Sofoline. Though the PTA warned the administration to serve the students sufficient
food at the dining hall, the Headmaster and his senior housemaster have failed to do.
In fact, food shortages at the dining hall have become so commonplace that some
students refuse to go to the dining hall
because "the food is insignificant in a boy's life."
Prempeh captain and nationall footballer of the year, Ahmed Amoako
boldly refuses to eat the food Mr. Atiemo is offering at the dining hall.
Starvation is not different.
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Ahmed Amoako, the soccer captain who is leading Prempeh to defend the national soccer
title on November 7, has decided to never patronise Prempeh's dining service again
because, again, "the food is insignificant in a boy's life."
That our star athletes now perform on the field under profound starvation paints a
disconcerting picture of the life of a Prempeh boy at this present time. This is not
unprecedented in our history, however. Ironically, the last time students boycotted
dining services was during the administration of Mr. Atiemo's father (Headmaster, 1977-84).
Strange argument
Because Prempeh accepted 634 computer-admitted new boys this year instead of the usual
800-plus students for the form one roster,
the administration feels that they need not feed 200 students. That raison d'etre does not hold water
because the 200 students never entered the school in the first place, so how could that affect the ability to feed
the whole school?
Ten tables are currently not being served because those tables could have accomodated
20 people each. This supposedly accounts for the 200 students who never existed.
And the ones being served are served with very insufficient food.
Other problems at the Dining Hall
Students now eat without the requisite cutlery because the Senior Housemaster does not enforce
the school rule. Spoons, instead of knifes and folks, are what the students use. Anything goes at the
dining hall these days, at least for those who show up.
Students frequentness of "town"
When we heard of students dressing any how and walking through the school gates any time of the day, we blamed it on the
ineffectiveness of the notorious Kwadjo Konadu. But was the Senior Prefect the one to blame?
The fact that the headmaster had to eliminate the free exeat system last week shows that
the Senior Housemaster is very weak. Could this be their bone of contention now? Could it be that the boss
condemned the Senior Housemaster for his failures in this area?
Both men should be warned that the Regional Director of Education, along with Prempeh's Board of Governors are now
constantly tuned in to prempeh.org and they should strive not to have their reputations sullied in the eyes of these people.
