All in Daarie, from the Assistant Principal through the teachers to the students, stated that their Principal was regularly absent from school. A teacher explained: “I can’t actually tell whether he’s on leave (or) he’s on retirement, I just can’t tell, he
Key finding 7.3
Darrack’s personal vision and mission to make Daarie an outstanding institution of high academic achievement with top BECE results, through improvement of teaching and learning and with aid of school partners, remained unknown to the School
138 doesn’t come to school” (Da Teachers FG Meeting, 05/02/2010). These teachers also expressed their desire to resolve the School’s leadership impasse. They complained that their Principal’s regular absence from the School had affected school discipline, and teaching and learning. One remarked:
I haven’t seen (the Principal) because when I came here I met him in the house. I never met (him) in (during) the school activities… He’s not serious because he doesn’t care about the school activities. And two, he doesn’t come to school to know whether the students are in the school or outside. And he doesn’t come; he doesn’t sit with the masters oh, to talk about how to strengthen teaching and learning activities... (Da Teachers FG Meeting, 05/02/2010)
Some students also observed the continuous absence of their Principal. One said: “He came only once this term, the first day and he didn’t come again. He entered his inside office and he went away so, I don’t know where he has gone.” (Da Current Students FG Meeting, 29/01/2010). Other students claimed that they did not even know their official Principal. A female student reiterated: “I don’t know our Headmaster, he doesn’t come to School” (Da Current Students FG Meeting, 29/01/2010).
Darrack was concerned about the leadership situation in the School and would like to get it resolved quickly. He acknowledged that he took the initiative to act as Principal of Daarie when he observed that the official Principal had been absent for a long time without any explanation from him or from the local education authorities. The following illustrated in Darrack’s own words how he became the informal acting Head:
That’s my own initiative to act as acting head… Nobody pushed me… When the Head stopped coming to school...That was around 2008. The Head stopped coming to school since June 2008. We were four staff, and everybody was reluctant to do something. I saw that law and order was virtually not there in the school because there was no Head – when the head of the family is not there, everybody does what he or she wants. So I took it upon myself to at least put things in order. I did that in consultation with another staff… and he said that it was a good position if I could go ahead. I said I needed his support at least to instil discipline and put things in order. He told me that I’m good; I can handle that so he’ll back me. So I started by acting – it was just getting to the end of the term in July, so I organised exams for the end of the term and it went on smoothly... I took the total movement of staff, total movement of students, opened the school officially in the log book and then drew a timetable for the beginning of the academic term. Yes in 2008 and 2009…, (I) organised first staff meeting for the term and then apportioned lesson–periods and staff to subjects, subject areas. They started their academic work and that was just going down smoothly. Up till now, that’s how... (Da Principal Interview; 05/02/2010)
139 In spite of this bold initiative to act as the Head of the School and the expressed concerns of his staff and students about the headship impasse, Darrack did not take immediate steps to request the local education authorities, the Ghana Education Service, to confirm his acting headship or to find a replacement. He rather continued to count on the absentee Principal to take the initiative in resolving the impasse. Darrack declared: “Sometimes we would talk and he would say oh, I’m leaving now, I’m going to the office (of the District Director of Education).Very soon he will confirm you. … But nothing happens” (Da Principal Interview, 05/02/2010).
Darrack accepted the status quo and kept working. He sometimes formally received local education officers who visited the School to carry out official duties. These officers had the authority to resolve the leadership confusion in the School, yet Darrack did not bother them on this. He admitted that: “Any time they (GES officers) come they ask: ‘Where's my boss?’ ‘He hasn’t come, as usual?’ They would say…, and I would say ‘yes, he hasn’t come’. Then they’ll go ahead and do whatever they came to do” (Da Principal Interview, 05/02/2010).
Resolving the leadership impasse in Daarie was also a major concern for the teachers. All teachers who were interviewed remarked that they wanted the official Principal to either return to the School or to seek a formal approval of Darrack as Head. Some teachers emphasised that it was unnecessary for the Parent Teacher Association and other stakeholders to continue to advise the absentee Principal to return and become active again. Those teachers insisted that since a number of parents and education officers had advised the legitimate Principal, and yet he failed to resume his responsibility as official Principal, he should be replaced by a new Principal. One teacher said: “I think if they give the school a new headmaster it will help. Because I don’t think…, yes; I don’t think any amount of advice, will change him” (Da Teachers FG Meeting, 05/02/2010).
The teachers, however, acknowledged the fundamental managerial role Darrack was playing in running the School. They explained that: “It will collapse. The school will collapse if Darrack has not taken the initiative to act (as Principal)” (Da Teachers FG Meeting, 05/02/2010).
Daarie students also complained about the regular absence of the official Principal and the subsequent headship impasse. Some thought that the absence of a official Principal was the cause of the numerous problems that plagued the School. Some students also stated that if there was an official Principal in their School, he or she
140 would ensure that the helper teachers would regularly come to school and be on time. The students complained that their poor achievement was also caused by the helper teachers who came to school late and regularly missed their teaching periods. A student reported: “Some (helper teachers) would come to School at 8 (am) and a half (half past eight) and by that time, their (teaching) period, their class has passed (elapsed)” (Da Current Students FG Meeting, 29/01/2010).
The appointment of a new official Principal for Daarie or the confirmation of its Assistant Principal as acting head was perceived as impractical by some local education officers and also by some parents. They still regarded the absentee Principal as the legitimate School Head (Da Ex-District Director Interview, 09/01/2010). Some parents, in fact, commented on the difficulty they had in discussing certain issues with Darrack for fear of displeasing the absentee Principal. Some acknowledged that they were friends with the official Principal and they had appealed to him to be present and active in the School but to no avail. Others mentioned that, although they appreciated the efforts of the young Assistant Principal who was now informally heading the School, they still recognised the absentee Principal as the formal Head and still discussed their children’s school issues with him whenever they met him in town or elsewhere (Da Parents FG Meeting, 11/02/2010). Despite parents’ dilemma some parents indicated their readiness to cooperate with the Assistant Principal (Field Notes, 30/03/2010).