The Board of Trustees of the Freetown Secondary School for Girls (FSSG) has been accused by the Principal and teachers of allegedly acting way out of line by serving ejectment notices to five long serving male teachers who were residing at the school’s teachers’ quarters.
The principal of the FSSG Senior Secondary School (SSS) Mrs. Elvira Bobson Kamara disclosed that the Board issued the teachers with the notices without discussing the matter with her.
.The principal revealed that at a Board of Trustee meeting some time ago, the issue about tenancy came up and the Board stated that they do not want male tenants to occupy the premises.
Mrs. Bobson Kamara said she pleaded I pleaded on behalf of the teachers but the Board members were adamant so she did not raise the issue again..
Source close to the school authority disclosed that the teachers are displeased with this action and intend to demonstrate as they were not being treated fairly.
It was reported that three of the affected teachers are senior teachers and Heads of Department, while the other two have served the school for over 15 years. This was also confirmed by the SSS principal.
A disgruntled teacher (name withheld) disclosed that the teachers were not found wanting of any crime relating to professional misconduct, adding that the rationale behind the ejectment is that they want to run the school as a business at the detriment of them the teachers, noting that the board has already rented a flat to an outsider who is not part of the school’s administration. It was also alleged reported that some female teachers applied for an apartment in the school’s quarter, but they were rejected, instead one Mrs. Boston Griffin a Secretary to an enterprise that has nothing to do with the school was granted the premises.
In a phone interview with the chairman of the Board of Trustees Mrs. Ore Awoonor- Renner, confirmed the ejectment notice issued by the board.
According to her the reason for the ejectment is to enable them to refurbish the premises. She alleged that the evicted teachers have been abusing the premises by organizing extra classes and allowing students at the premises which according to her is not proper. “We have to maintain standards,” she said. “One thing that is of concern to us is the ratio of male teachers in female schools,” she said.
“If they don’t want to conform to regulation they must leave. After all the teaching is not of good standard.”However the teachers’ alleged that it is the Board that is dropping the standard of the school.
They noted that massive failure in public exams often come from students in bordering homes which is being supervised by the Board of Trustees. The affected teachers have made a formal report to the Sierra Leone Teachers Union (SLTU) and the Ministry of Education.
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