The dispute involving members of the Interim Management Board (IMB) and some concerned parents on one hand, and Nana Woode and his colleagues on the other, over the management of the Achimota Preparatory and JSS is relatively over.
This was achieved after a last minute attempt by members of the IMB to take over the school’s administration from Nana Woode and his group turned violent. Hired machomen armed with cutlasses and other weapons emerged from a nearby bush to attack members of the IMB on Tuesday September 20. The police later repulsed them.
Though the disruption of the school’s academy calendar is over, the new administration is presently faced with numerous problems and challenges. Explaining these problems and challenges to the Chronicle, Nana Nyantakyi Amponsem II, a legal practitioner and lawyer for the IMB said, since his clients took over the smooth running of the school’s administration they have been facing a number of problems.
The carbonate, which contains all the information about the children, and the fridge that was in the Headmistress office were taken away by the old management, he said. He said there is virtually nothing left in the headmistress office. Even the school’s signboard was taken away. Most importantly, salaries of some teachers have not been paid for two to three months, with the school’s bank account completely depleted.
He disclosed that a budget is being drawn up to debate the financial requirement of the school. This, he added, will necessitate increase or decrease in the payment of fees. Other challenges, he said, include the repairing of broken desks, renovation of the places of convenience and how to deal with parents who are holding receipts which suggest that they have paid fees to the former management of the school.
Meanwhile the exodus of teachers in the school is on the increase. Many of the teachers are tendering in their resignation letters. Most affected classes are on the JSS level, with a small number coming from the primary division.
In an interview, some students complained that they have been without teachers over the past several days at lecture periods.
