October 11, 2021
By Dadson A. Musa
Bo Government Secondary School is the school that the current president of Sierra Leone attended. Retired Brigadier Julius Maada Bio is the son of a Paramount chief which earned him the right to attend a school built by the British colonial administration in 1906.
The Bo Government Secondary School then was a citadel of secondary School education. When private school system was not in existence then, Bo school filled that void.
The school is known for its discipline and academic prowess which has produced outstanding scholars both within and outside this country. So Bo school rings a bell. The school has never been in very high demand than when the current president of Sierra Leone Julius Maada Bio is in power.
Every parent who has a boy child or children would prefer him attend Bo Government Secondary School now. But after so many decades in existence does the school have the capacity for the growing demand? I’m afraid, no.
Here is a school built for 300(three hundred) pupils but is now being occupied by over 800(eight hundred) pupils. In their quest to make their alma mater better they (OBBA) brought a disciplined educationist from England to head this great school. Edward Kpakra who has been teaching in England got off to a disciplined start by suspending over 200 badly behaved boys. He got some bashing from parents and from the local media for this.
Now when it came to the recently concluded admission a good number of parents wanted their children to go to Bo school even when these children did not make the grades. So the principal, Edward Kpakra was put under undue pressure to accept these kids. And that pressure came mostly from OBBA members. One of the parents remarked that “if the principal thinks this is England”.
Others even threatened his life if their children were not admitted. He also suffered verbal attacks from others. That is how the demand for this great school has grown so much especially of recent times. But it is up to OBBA members to choose between quality and the principal dancing to their tunes. But the principal remains unfazed by it all. He is a man who can speak his mind no matter who, what or when. That great school is enjoying the limelight now but is also standing the test of time.