Shocks at Akosombo International School graduation

Opinion May - 29 - 2014 , 07:12

Every parent is very proud when a child is graduating. It's even more refreshing when the school involved is a private one with fees above that of the average Ghanaian wallet or purse.

Graduands of the Akosombo International School (AIS) were given specific guidelines concerning clothing (for the event).

As a loving and caring guardian, we left no stone unturned to ensure that all these conditions were satisfied. The school ensured that guardians and parents were adequately alerted about the event with at least two sms text messages specifying that the event would start at 9.30a.m. on Saturday, May 17.

On the D-Day, my family and I left with our ward ensuring that we were in our 'Sunday best, with elated hearts and high expectations of a smooth and colourful graduation ceremony.

We arrived ten minutes before time. The designated car park near the assembly hall was already filled with cars hence the security detail ushered us to a spot on the main street.

Our ward went with us to the table where gowns and caps were being distributed upon production of a receipt of Gh¢ 150.00 which was the required fee per graduand for the graduation. I guessed that a set of male twins who graduated together might have paid a double of this amount!

No seats?

The first shock hit me when we arrived at the assembly hall. All parents and guests were seated outside the hall. This was rather unusual because even though the hall wasn't so large, it was possible to seat all the hundred or so graduands and a few parents. I entered the hall and asked one knowledgeable-looking gentleman whether we couldn't sit inside the hall. He confirmed the information we had received. We humbly left the hall and selected seats on the corridor outside the assembly hall.

Here's my second shock. A guest (I cannot tell whether she was a parent or not) who arrived late also heard this instruction. She was in an elegant straight dark blue dress with a scarlet trim at the lower end with matching blood-red high-heeled shoes. She decided that she was not going to sit outside the hall. After a brief argument with this knowledgeable-looking gentleman, she was allowed to have her way. She sat in the front row of the seats arranged at the back of the hall. Other parents and guests noticed this and trooped in to occupy all the seats at the back of the hall leaving about half of the hall vacant for the graduands.

As for me and my family, we stayed rooted to our corridor seats despite several invitations from guests we knew and those we didn't know to take new seats in the hall. Some used their bags to preserve their seats outside the hall in case they were asked to return. At 10.15a.m. (45 minutes late) the programme had not begun. one of the crew controlling the public address system and cameras,came forward with a microphone and started interviewing the headmaster and then the former girls prefect. The graduands then began to file into the hall. Then, I got my third shock!

Lady in red shoes

The seats that had been left by the parents/guests, led by the lady in red shoes, was not enough for the graduands. After a quick survey, I was happy to note that my ward was seated. One of the female graduands then entered with a list and started mentioning the names of the graduands one by one to arrange them in a certain order. After this, a good 20 of them were still standing. Around this time an announcement was made for us to rise and welcome the dignitaries. The programme started after one hour.

After singing a song or two, we were asked to sit down. There, standing in the middle aisle, were the 20 or so graduands. There were no seats for them!

Shock number four! The lady in red shoes got up again. She selected some guests and asked them to leave the hall for the stranded graduands to sit down. Interestingly, she did not vacate her seat nor ask the entourage she came with to move. Just when I was heaving a sigh of relief, the microphones started giving out loud, shrieking beeps. The crew, attired in white shirts/blouses and red waist coats, started running helter-skelter. A second look at their equipment revealed that they were indeed very old. It went on for a while till finally the programme came to a close around 12:30p.m.

I have several questions.

Why were seats for graduands not labelled? Even the latecomers would have found their seats.

Why did the school ignore the basic rules of organising a programme of this nature by placing identifiable ushers at all entrances? The SHS 2 students could have been trained for this.

No MC

Why was there no master of ceremonies (a teacher or parent)?

How can a school like AIS allow one woman to derail a major programme like this?

Why were parents and guests not given at least half an A4 sheet of the programme? Booklets were printed for the graduands but there was no provision to even purchase one to have an idea of what the programme was like. I was not lucky enough to see this since I could not interact with my ward after leaving to collect the gown.

What was the role of the PTA in this programme?

Why wasn't there a rehearsal before such an important programme? It was utterly amazing to see graduands arriving as late as 11a.m. for a 9:30a.m. programme. Did they have prior experience with the school and know that programmes at AIS do not start on time? From where I sat ,I counted at least six of them.

Why were there no prizes? Couldn't the alumni, PTA, school, etc sponsor prizes?

This is woefully inadequate for a school that is over 50 years old. There are several other things that are substandard in the school. For example, it was always a spectacle to watch parents queuing to pay school fees on re-opening days. There was usually one staff serving all! The queues were horrendous!

Several private schools are springing up in Ghana. If AIS wants to stay ahead of the competition, they should seriously up their game. This is definitely not acceptable. I want to advocate an urgent audit of the programme and appropriate changes effected.

Meanwhile, I congratulate all the graduating SHS students of 2014 and wish them well in all their future endeavours.