The Headmistress of Madonna School in Koforidua, a private institution owned by the Catholic Church, has undermined an effort to teach students about organizing peaceful, free, and fair elections.
This incident comes as Ghana prepares for its Presidential and Parliamentary elections on December 7 with the Catholic Bishops Conference calling for free, fair and peaceful polls.
In an effort to instill civil responsibility and democratic values, the school management formed a Vetting Committee and an Electoral Commission to oversee the Senior School Prefect elections.
Three JHS 2 students who showed interest to contest were cleared by the vetting committee.
They presented their manifestos during an assembly of students attended by the headmistress and teachers.
They subsequently,embarked on campaigned among their peers through including sharing of flyers.
In the election, the winner secured 129 votes, the second candidate had 109, and the third candidate garnered 23.
Strangely however, the results were not officially declared.
Sources indicate that the headmistress, Rev. Sr. Perpetual Owiredu announced that the results would be declared after the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).
Surprisingly, the headmistress says the winner and the third-placed candidates were ineligible to contest election without providing a tangible reason .
Worse of all, she has also annulled the results.
This decision has left the affected candidates traumatized , and thrown the entire school into state of confusion.
Efforts to obtain a comment from the headmistress, Rev.Sr. Perpetual Owiredu , were unsuccessful. When approached for clarification, she declined to comment, saying, “Thank you. I won’t talk. I don’t know why all this is happening.”
A member of the Electoral Commission disagreed with the decision to annul the results for fresh elections.
He explained, “In our school, it is the Upper Primary – class 4, 5, 6, and JHS 3, 2, and 1 who vote. We did the voting, counted the outcomes, and compiled the list, which we gave to the headmistress. Eventually, she said there was a problem with two of the candidates but has not disclosed what the problems are. She said we have to go through the electoral process again, but she couldn’t answer whether we need a new set of senior prefects, leaving us all at a loss.”
The situation at Madonna School remains tense as the school community awaits the final decision on the election results.
Information gathered indicate there may be a spontaneous protest on campus if the Headmistress does not rescind the unpopular decision .
The media in Koforidua, which also monitored the election process, is observing how a school aiming to teach democratic principles and the organization of free and fair elections has ended up causing such a mess.
Source: Mybrytfmonline.com/Obed Ansah
