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BulletinBelow is a listing of items that have been brought to the attention of the members of Bong Education Center.
Mrs. Stewart's Report on
the revamp Bong Central High School
NEEDED ITEMS FOR CENTRAL
HIGH SCHOOL
Physical Education, Religion (Bible)
A COMPEHENSIVE REPORT ON THE FORMER BONG EDUCATION CENTER (BEC) COMPILED AND SUBMITTED To: BONG MINERS ASSOCIATION UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY: MARGARET J. STEWART PRINCIPAL July 24, 2004 FORMER BONG EDUCATION CENTER (BEC) NOW BONG MINES CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL (BMCHS) We give glory to God Almighty that through His grace and power some of us are still around to tell some, if not all, of the story of our beloved Bong Education Center (BEC). How great and powerful God is to have spared our lives through out the fourteen long years of bitter civil crisis, in which human lives were taken away and physical structure of buildings were also damaged. Bong Education Center was no exception . BEC NO longer exists. Most of the staff members, students as well as parents are scattered all over Liberia and the world at large. A good number are non-existent. Of the two schools that made up the Center (Bong Town School and Zaweata School), only a portion of Zaweata School is in use. Bong Town school is completely destroyed and is surrounded by bushes. Although Zaweata School is in use, it is in a very dilapidated condition. About 95% of the furniture have been carried away or damaged. During the crisis the National Red Cross and a group called the Concerned Christian Academy operated in Zaweata School. One group operated during the morning hours while the other during the evening hours. Finally, the District Education Officer (DEO), Mr. Allen Barclay of Fuamah District requested the groups operating in the Zaweata School to turn the school over to the District to be controlled by the government of Liberia. In so doing the name Bong Mines Central High School (BMCHS) was given. After a year of operation-academic 2000/2001, I joined the staff and
became the school’s Principal through the persuasion of the DEO
and some executives of the Bong Miners Association-Liberia. On April 2, 2002, we tried to resume operation, but it was to no avail because on April 3rd, the rebels attacked some surrounding villages (Mawah, Handii and the Farry area) not far from the Bong Mines Community. Hence, we decided to wait until the next academic year 2002/2003. at which time we began operation with mixed feelings. The civil crisis was now spreading from Lofa to Cape Mount, Barpolu, and Bomi. At the North, they were heading for Gbarnga in Bong. And at the South, they were heading for Buchanan. Therefore, school was like tutorial classes and students who attended were considered and promoted at the end of the term. Of the twenty-five staff members, eighteen were teachers most of whom were volunteers. After the February 19th, attack on Bong Mines, only four of the teachers remained in the Community. The rest have never returned. We were fortunate to have five displaced teachers join us from the Handii area. One of them became my New Vice-Principal called Mr. Orantee Kennedy. He has been very dedicated to the job. Being a lady, with the many disturbances going on, I was advised not to return to the community until disarmament could take place. Besides, my health condition being quite poor, I sought medical treatment in Monrovia and got caught up in the series of Wars, which made it impossible to get back to Bong Mines. My Vice Principal kept in touch with me on school matters, as regularly as possible. Present Condition or Situation of School: Physical Structure of School Building Zaweata School, now Bong Mines Central High School as previously stated, is in a very deplorable state. Out of more than twenty-five rooms, only ten are in use. And even those that are in use are leaking in several places. The rest of the rooms are roofless with no doors and windows. A company called GEO-Services promised to renovate the school for community use, but to no avail. They are removing Iron scraps from the Mines for sale. Upon appeal to them by the school administration for assistance, they awarded us a sum of Two Hundred United States dollars for the staff in December 2002, which we were very grateful to them. Another major problem is the lack of furniture such as desks, chairs,
tables, cabinets, cupboards for filing records for students and staff
or storing books. Can you imagine, mats are provided for most of the
nursery and kindergarten children to sit on the floor because of the
shortage of desks, tables and chairs. There is a basketball/Volleyball Court, but the poles and basketball rings are all gone or damaged. The entire court needs re-plastering.
Note: Ten (10) 9th graders will sit for the WAEC in August this year. Academic Calendar/Curriculum and Activities: Usually comes from the Ministry of Education of Liberia. A. Required subjects: 1. Mathematics 2. Sciences 3. Social Studies *4. Religious Education 5. Physical Education 6. Language Arts 7. Agriculture. B. Extra Curriculum Activities: 1. Sport and athletics 2. Drama and Cultural club 3. Debates and Panel Discussions 4. Tam time Quiz 5. Scripture Union Club 6. French Club 7. Press Club, etc. Others: P.T.A. Meetings, Teachers workshops. Parents expressed from P.T.A. meeting that they prefer the name BONZA from the former BONZA Express Newspaper to be given to Zaweata School; rather than Bong Mines Central High School. Whether the name remains the same or changed, does not matter so much to me as the renovation of the school. They are unable to renovate the school because they hardly have the funds to sustain themselves and send their children to school. Since the end of the war, UNICEF has sponsored many workshops in displaced camps, towns and villages as well as cities.
The pre-primary levels (ABC-KG) are charged a fee of $50.00 Liberian dollars per semester. Many parents are unable or do not want to pay this amount. Some students have sat in class for the whole year without paying a cent. When put out, they come right back without their parents. Incomes are so low that a teacher (high school graduate) may receive only $150.00LD (one hundred and fifty Liberian dollars) a month. Teachers are so discouraged and they have expressed their desire to leave to work on their farms or in gardens. We keep on appealing to them to remain and help to keep the children off the streets, for they know our field of work in humanitarian. Attached is a copy of Registration and Related fees for Government Schools that is used by our school. Looking at it, you shall be able to estimate what comes into the school’s coffers. Nevertheless, most of what is required in never paid. * Religious Education not required by Ministry of Education. In order to give the staff some incentive, we suggest that their present stipend or salary be increased which will make it more attractive than that of government employees. If this is done, we will not only be able to recruit teachers easily, but be able to keep them. Suggested below is an amount to begin with different categories as compared to that of government. Government Salary Suggested Salary Category I : Less than High School Graduate $500.00LD $10.00 USD Category II : High School graduate 800.00LD 15.00 USD Category III : Teacher’s Training Certificate 1,000.00LD 25.00 USD Category IV : College Graduate 2,000.00LD 50.00 USD At least 20 teachers are needed for effective teaching to be done. Combined classeS must be separated. We shall be adding grades 11th and 12th in the next academic year. From the pre-primary level through grade 9, a total number of 14 (fourteen) teachers will be needed which will fall in categories one through three. And for the Senior High level, six (6) teachers will be needed. These teachers have to fall in category four. These teachers must be paid more in order to keep them. The administrative staff will be included in the number of 20 (twenty) teachers because each administrator will have to teach one or two subjects besides executing his/her administrative task. As a result, a little more will need to be added to administrator’s salary for greater motivation. The administrative staff will be five (5) in number:
As for the support staff, which includes janitors, securities, and cooks, we suggest that an amount of $300.00LD be given. They were paid a sum of $150.00LD. Therefore, please take a look at this salary structure and give us your point of view. Attached is also a list of needed items. Whatever you can send us in cash or kind, from time to time, will be highly appreciated. We are aware that you cannot collect all of these items at once. We would like some computer games, and even used computers for students and teachers to practice on, but we do not have electricity. A good number of youths who are highly school dropouts are appealing to us to open a night school most of them are self-supported. As a result, they are busy doing their business or farming during the day, while we are in school. We would love to assist them, but we cannot make it with candlelight or lanterns. Only large truck batteries or a portable generator would do. You can observe that the junior and senior high students are fewer in number than the pre-primary through elementary level. Most junior and senior high students fall in the dropout group. Therefore, if you can assist us in this light, we will be very grateful. I hope I have enlightened you about our beloved B.E.C., Mr. Stewart and I wish you all the blessing s in your joint and individual endeavors. Mr. Stewart has been assisting with the school since March this year. May God almighty keep us all growing strong and prosperous and may He make is it possible for you to come back to help rebuild B.E.C. and our beloved mother Liberia. Respectfully Submitted, Margaret J. Stewart (Mrs.) |
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