July 21, 2021
By Aruna Kamara in Bo
Parents have accused the administration of St. Andrews Secondary School in Bo commonly known as UCC of allegedly extorting money from them. The demanded amount ranges from five thousand to twenty thousand Leones. It has been suggested that the school make this demand as requirement before report cards aee issued for the 2020/2021 academic year.
Speaking to A-Z newspaper in a downcast mood, some of the parents who begged for anonymity said that their while their children were sitting to the third term examination, their teachers were threatening them if they do not ‘shake their hands’ they will not be promoted to the next class.
They said that the Anti-Corruption Commission has informed them on the radio that nobody should bribe a teacher for promotion and President Bio has said that this is free and quality education but the teachers are demanding money from them.
They called on the board of the school, the ACC and the inspector of schools to monitor UCC so that the right thing is done.
Reacting to the allegations, the Vice Principal of the St. Andrews Senior Secondary School K. A Kanneh said that he cannot rule out the fact that such acts are not happening but the administration is thoroughly monitoring examinations and the marking of scripts to ensure that those that merit to be promoted go to the next class’’.
“If you look at my table here now you can see examination script and we are doing that to ensure that we monitor the grades that are entered into the report cards, the teacher will mark and submit scripts .We also do conference making to ensure that they system is cleaned of corruption”, He said
Mr. Kanneh noted that the administration of the school is determined to ensure the successful implementation of President Bio’s free and quality education, adding that they have warned the parents and the children not to pay money to teachers for grade and if any student or teacher is caught in the act, punitive measures will be meted out against them.
He thanked President Bio`s administration for disbursement of fee subsidy even though it mostly comes late.
The Regional Manager of the Anti-Corruption Commission in the southern Region, Musa JB Jawara has cautioned school administration to desist from taking money from the parents, stressing that it is a crime punishable by law.
“Parents please report to our office if any teacher or school authority is extorting money from you,’’ Mr. Jawara said.
The Civil Society Activist in Bo said that they will monitor schools in Bo as this is the time for the distribution report cards and called on the school to stop taking money from pupils that the education police abhor.