MOBA Ebusuapanyin on appointment of new headmaster for Mfantsipim

The following is a statement issued by the Ebusuapanyin of Mfantsipim Old Boys Association (MOBA) to clarify matters relating to the appointment of a new Headmaster for the school.

STATEMENT ON THE APPOINTMENT OF HEADMASTER FOR MFANTSIPIM

With the imminent retirement of the Headmaster, Mr. Manfred Barton-Oduro, it has become necessary to have the vacancy filled. Mfantsipim has always stood for excellence and it has always been a pacesetter. Building on the vision and sacrifices of Methodist missionaries and the sweat and toil of staff, and with the immeasurable contributions of Old Boys, parents and guardians and other well-wishers, Mfantsipim has had most of its Headmasters being Old Boys.

The Methodist Church Ghana (M.C.G.) accordingly engaged the MOBA NEC on the issue of the pending appointment of a new Mfantsipim Headmaster. The Presiding Bishop and the Ebusuapanyin of MOBA were both present at all the meetings, and agreed to work together to find the best possible headmaster who would preferably be an Old Boy. In response to the church's request, a couple of letters were written by MOBA to the Presiding Bishop nominating qualified Old Boys.

The pursuit of excellence and the desire to have an Old Boy as Headmaster have not often coincided. In the past, being an Old Boy of the School has been a pre-condition for a Headmaster of Mfantsipim as against excellence - this has drastically compromised both the educational and managerial standards at Mfantsipim. But over the past several months, a healthy but passionate discussion has ensued on various Old Boy platforms on what should carry the day if excellence and being an Old Boy do not coincide in a candidate. In that event, should the preferred candidate be the best available or should he be the Old Boy?

This once-in-a-century dilemma is now confronting Mfantsipim, a Government-assisted Mission School with a very influential Old Boys' Association.

As part of the selection process for a suitable candidate, the Methodist Church invited participation from MOBA in an interview for the selection of a Headmaster for Mfantsipim on Thursday 14th May, 2020 at the Methodist Headquarters Conference Room. There were three (3) candidates - two (2) Old Boys and one (1) non-Old Boy and the interview panel was made up of the following:

• The Most Rev. Paul Boafo - Presiding Bishop, M.C.G. (Chairman)
• Prof. Ato Essuman - Methodist University
• The Very Rev. Naana Danyame - Gen Manager of Schools, M.C.G.
• The Very Rev. Godwyll - Head of HR, M.C.G. & an Mfantsipim Old Boy.
• The Very Rev. Abraham Osei-Donkor Supt Minister, M.C.G.
• Capt. Paul Forjoe - MOBA
• Anis Haffar- MOBA
• Prof. Phillip Bondzi-Simpson - MOBA

The MOBA team, led by the undersigned as Ebusuapanyin, included Mr Anis Haffar, a well-respected Educationist and Prof Philip Bondzi-Simpson the Rector of GIMPA. The MOBA Representatives attended the joint Methodist Church/MOBA interview sessions for the three candidates with the brief that MOBA supported an Old Boy. The representatives also took the view that they would still favour an Old Boy if the non-Old Boy was not evaluated overwhelmingly ahead of the Old Boy. The representatives conveyed these as the wishes of MOBA National to the eight-member interview panel. The panel of fair-minded professionals thereon proceeded to conduct the interviews and assessments of the interviewees on merit as the first step.

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The results of the merit evaluation unanimously and by a significant margin favoured the non-Old Boy, Reverend Ebenezer K. Aidoo.

Accordingly, the best candidate was presented for appointment.

But MOBA remains committed to both excellence and to having an excellent Old Boy head the School. Consequently, heeding the requests of MOBA National, the following is to be formally agreed with the Church:

1. That Rev Ebenezer Aidoo shall serve for a term of four (4) years with all the support that MOBA traditionally gives the School.
2. That MOBA National shall set out key performance indicators (KPIs) for consideration and adoption by the Governing Board.
3. The Governing Board-approved KPIs shall be used to assess the performance of the Headmaster at the end of the initial term.
4. Henceforth, KPIs shall be used for the annual performance appraisal of all Headmasters.
5. MOBA will use its considerable clout on the School to ensure quarterly meetings of the School's Governing Board to guide and provide oversight to Management.
6. Leadership development and succession planning should be priority areas for MOBA National in order to ensure excellence in Mfantsipim Headmasters. The School must reclaim and exceed its glory years.
7. MOBA National shall put in place modalities for upgrading, grooming and building the capacity of a pool of excellent and suitable candidates to occupy the post of Mfantsipim Headmaster in future.
8. Suitable Old boys will be given the opportunity to contest for the position of Mfantsipim Headmaster after the term of Rev. Aidoo.

Dated 8th June, 2020

Signed;

Captain Paul Forjoe Ebusuapanyin

A recent article on the subject is available at: MOBA and Methodist Church on collision course over headmaster