Mirabel Azangeh Tandafor Fru
Education stakeholders, especially the heads of public and private schools, have been warned to resist the temptation of asking from parents and guardians, more than what is necessary with regards to school fees, books, uniforms and other school requirements.
Edwin Nkenya Ngwana, Social and Cultural Affairs Adviser at the South West Governor’s office, sounded the warning recently while opening the 2007/2008 School Year Sector Conference for Secondary Education.
In attendance at the conference which held at Bilingual Grammar School Molyko Buea, were principals of all government schools and other provincial education stakeholders.
Those directly involved in the daily running of schools were asked to desist from asking for irrelevant things such as reams of papers, contributions towards lavish graduation ceremonies, special attires and the compulsory purchase of text books from school, even when parents have the possibility of obtaining them from family stores and from previously bought stock.
In the same light, he noted that our liberal democratic society notwithstanding, anyone who wants to open a college, should only be allowed to do so, after fulfilling the necessary conditions. “The running of clandestine schools in our province is not allowed,” he averred. He added that a proprietor, who has the intention of converting an evening school to a day school, should constitute a file for this purpose, and submit to the hierarchy.
Thereafter, the applicant must wait until an authorization is granted. The applicant must abide by the texts governing the recruitment of staff, fee collection and pedagogic norms, among many other requirements. In a stern note, he ordered that all unruly conduct in the education sector in the Province should stop, as any deviation from the norm will not be tolerated.
Securing a better school year
In a bid to situate the context of the Sector conference that had as theme: “Improvement of Pedagogic, Administrative and Financial management in schools, for a better performance”, Mr. Nkenya reiterated the need for teachers to improve on their output by stepping up pedagogy. While recognizing that this can only be possible in a flawless milieu, he equally recommended that all education stakeholders play their respective roles fully.
He disclosed that to ensure a hitch-free school year, the government has taken a series of measures; among which are the early payment of salaries, early publication of book lists, early transfer and appointment of teachers and principals and the payment of examination dues. He enjoined teachers to tap from these government measures to obtain desired results during end of course certificate examinations in 2008.
Stock-taking for a leap forward
On his part, the Provincial Delegate for Secondary Education, Ngundu Francis Mokomba, pointed out some of the problems encountered during the previous school year, noting that they could have been averted, had teachers taken appropriate measures. That notwithstanding, he said that the Southwest Province can be rated average, taking into consideration last year’s performance in public examinations. He disclosed that of the 33,597 candidates who sat for end of course examinations last academic year, 15,819 passed; recording a percentage pass of 52.24 percent.
He, however, observed that the above results could have been better, had there not been growing indiscipline amongst students, the failure by head teachers to give financial support to their teachers to attend seminars, the absence of good libraries and scholarships for deserving teachers, amongst other problems.
He recommended that for a better 2007/2008 academic year, scholarships should be awarded to teachers regularly, workshops organized at various levels and qualitative and quantitative recruitments made. He concluded that new schools will be created; some already existing upgraded and the impromptu inspection of schools intensified.
Forestalling future students’ agitations
The Inspector Coordinator for Social Sciences in the Southwest Province, Njikang Gabriel Metuge, while presenting a paper on the occasion said, the students’ strikes and agitations, which characterized the later part of the 2006/2007 Academic Year, could have been averted, had they been well managed.
Hinging his discourse on “administrative decision-making and problem-solving”, Mr. Njikang stated that any administrative decision worth its salt, should be given ample time for testing before implementation. He added that a good administrative decision must have an objective which needs to be carefully analyzed to identify inconsistencies.
Quoting Linda and Richard Eyre, two psycho-analysts, he entreated his colleagues, managers, parents and school heads, to always concert with adolescents rather than impose on manage them. To him, an administrative decision should be one that motivates others. The schools head who takes decisions, should exercise moderation and self-discipline without showing open bias to the opinions of other colleagues. He should also work in collaboration with all teachers, heads of departments and immediate collaborators.
To conclude, he urged all school administrators and education stakeholders to always stop, think and pray before taking any major decision that is intended to ensure a common good and wellbeing of the individual.
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