‘Chalk’ Headmistress To Be Transferred


Matilda Amissah-Arthur
Information reaching DAILY GUIDE at press time on Tuesday indicated that Juliana Oppong, headmistress of Presbyterian Primary School, Akyem Kukurantumi in the East Akim Municipality of the Eastern Region, was going to be transferred to another school.

A credible source at the East Akim education directorate told DAILY GUIDE that the regional education directorate had been directed by the Ghana Education Service (GES) to issue a transfer letter to Madam Juliana Oppong.

According to the source, although the East Akim education directorate was not happy about the decision to transfer the headmistress, it could not resist the directive or some heads would roll.

An insider at the Eastern Regional Coordinating Council hinted DAILY GUIDE that the reason for the headmistress’ supposed transfer was that she was seen as being a strong sympathizer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and that she was influenced by some NPP big wigs to ask the government for chalk, whereas the education directorate claims to have disturbed some boxes of chalk to about nine public schools in the Kukurantumi area.

The insider posited that Mrs Matilda Amissah-Arthur, wife of the vice president, blasted the headmistress because she (Mrs Amissah-Arthur) was told by the entourage from the Regional Coordinating Council that Madam Juliana Oppong is an NPP member who did not appreciate the efforts of the government.

The second lady came under attack after she had chastised the headmistress for appealing to the government through her (second lady) to supply her school with chalk.

The acting Public Relations Officer of the GES, Rev Jonathan Bettey, had told various media houses that there was the need to investigate the headmistress’ complaint regarding the scarcity of chalk in her school.

The GES had earlier lambasted the headmistress for directing her request to Mrs Amissah-Arthur.

According to the PRO, the headmistress should have contacted the district education office or the director of education for the chalk and teaching materials her school had supposedly run out of.

Rev Bettey told Joy News that thousands of boxes of chalk had been made available to all educational directorates as far back as March this year, to be supplied to all schools, claiming the Eastern Region was allocated 82,391 boxes.

Meanwhile, DAILY GUIDE checks at the East Akim Municipality indicated that no boxes of chalk had been supplied since March 2015, contrary to the claim by the GES.

Old Boys’ Reaction
Some old boys of the Kukurantumi Presbyterian School are angry with the GES over the decision to transfer the headmistress.

Their leader, Francis Bossman, pointed out that if the GES dared transfer Madam Juliana Oppong, they would take a legal action against it (GES).

According to a letter signed by Ben Sackey Enoch, convener for Critical Thinkers, the said 82,391 boxes of chalk supplied to the Eastern Regional directorate of the GES in March were meant to cover numerous schools in the region – which were woefully inadequate.

He said if the GES distributed the 82,391 boxes to the 26 MMDAs, then the East Akim Municipality (where Kukurantumi is located) had had only 3,169 boxes since March.

By Daniel Bampoe


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