Prince of Wales School saga – common sense has prevailed

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 12 January 2021:

The Sierra Leone Telegraph is pleased to report that after a marathon meeting that ended a few hours ago at the ministry of education in Freetown, between the Education Permanent Secretary and the Board of Governors of the Prince of Wales Secondary School, the decision of the Board of Governors to appoint Mr LeFevre as Principal has been upheld by the Education Permanent Secretary.

Yesterday, the Sierra Leone Telegraph published a story of an attempt by so called “powers from above” to overturn the decision of the Board not to appoint Mr Gegbai for the position of Principal of the school, after he had failed to convince Board Governors that he is more qualified and experienced for the post than Mr. LeFevre.

The Chairman of the Board of Governors of the school – Mr Gilpin, was unavailable for comment on this breaking story, but an ex-pupil of the school living in London, tonight told the Sierra Leone Telegraph that: “Common sense has prevailed and justice has won. For me it’s a vindication of the very professional approach taken by the Board of Governors, and so refreshing to see a Minister backing up his staff in performing their duties without political interference.”

It is not clear after tonight’s decision by the Education Permanent Secretary, whether Mr Gegbai will be staying on as a teacher at the Prince of Wales School, after creating such unnecessary rancour and ill-will among the staff and management of the school.

But one thing is clear. The Board of Governors can now move on to focussing on how best to continue improving standards of achievement at the school, as well as raising much needed funds from the school’s alumni – especially those living in the diaspora, so as to refurbish and modernise the school building and amenities beyond what has so far been achieved.

6 Comments

  1. “I never did anything by worth doing by accident,nor did any of my inventions
    come by accident,they came from work:”(Plato)If only the Criminal SLPP Cabal
    will be able to grasp the intrinsic meaning of those timeless words of wisdom,
    then they will be able to understand that there is no need to use tribalism
    aggression and power to short-change others and promote their self-conceited agendas,because through hard work and perseverance all great things can be achieved.

  2. Once again we have been treated to 180 degrees U-Turn by a failing government ministry that was facing a revolt by the Governors of the school board. Flip – flopping by Bio’s government decision making process has added a new meaning to the words. I have changed my mind. Although it was dressed up as some form of understanding by the permanent secretary to the ministry of education, it has all the hallmarks of a political interference that met stiff resistance. Do not be fooled by anyone. Bio must give a wink, or nudge before any decision is taken in Sierra Leone. This top down political decision making process needs to stop.

    The idea that even a school head has to get the tactical approval of the president, just shows how much power Bio have managed to hoard since taking office. We need a bottom up sea change in the way things are done in Sierra Leone. Spare a thought for the poor students of POW that found themselves in this drama. As if their studies and COVID19 is not enough to deal with, they have to put up with Bio’s tantrums. The fact that the decision was reversed, shows it was an ill thought out plan, driven by egos. Bio and his government is not only behaving like “BIG BROTHER” knows everything, more like an octopus that wants to get its fingers on everything that displays any sense that it can take decisions on its own without the blessing from State House.

  3. WHO, Partners Announce Ebola Vaccine Stockpile. This is a suggestion to our government to give the vaccine to those at risk, namely: aid workers, hospital workers, laboratory workers and family members. This is a deadly infection and there is every chance Ebola may recur. I hope S.L. gets the coronavirus(Covid-19) vaccine this year 2021.

  4. These “ASHAWO” SLPP politicians that have been selling our nations sovereignty for peanuts to foreign entities have once again suffered another humiliating defeat at the hands of calm, practical and judicious minds. Even harlots that ply their trade under palm-trees at night, have more decency and dignity than the remorseless criminal cabal now holding onto the reins of power.(lol) The Board of Governors deserves commendation for standing up decisively against unwanted interference from tribalists with shady ulterior motives and agendas.

  5. Indeed common sense has prevailed. This was not a Krio/Mende issue. The previous principal who sadly passed away last year was Mende, but it does not automatically mean that his replacement should be Mende. It was about installing the person who was voted for by the Board of Governors and the right person for the job. Yes it is a government school but it is the Board of Governors who runs the school and has rightly chosen the Mr LeFevre. Government has many other things much more important than this and they cannot even cope. So politicians should know better than to interfere. Mr Gegbai should stop causing trouble or leave the school and teach somewhere else.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.


*


This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.