June 4, 2021
BY PROBLYN JOHN ALPHA
Information making the rounds in the municipality of Koidu and Kono District has alleged that some heads of schools in the District are reportedly violating the instructions by the Ministry of education for all principals or heads of schools to advertise the position for substantive principals. The objective of the directive is for schools that have acting principals or principals who have attained retirement age to give away for a relatively younger generation. One could deduce that the reasons responsible for certain heads of schools to violating the aforementioned mandate by the Ministry of Education cannot be unconnected with some of the heads of schools having interest in the advertised positions. As a result some did not adhere to what the Ministry mandated them to do, whilst others clandestinely carried out the advertisement in unknown newspapers in order to prevent young and energetic graduates that have the potentials of assuming the advertised positions in the respective schools in the city and the district as a whole.
According to reports, owing to the backdrop of not adhering to the Ministry’s mandate, the Ministry of Education has strongly warned those concern to re-advertised the said positions so that due diligence will be observed at the end of the whole process.
Meanwhile, according to sources some heads of schools are preventing others from applying for the positions of substantive principals so that they can continue controlling the finances of those schools until they finally retire or die or have their own representatives for the purpose of discouraging young and energetic graduates that are better competent for the said positions.
Some concern stakeholders has called on the Anti-Corruption Commission to be more robust in monitoring the said process in the district.