Halifa,

You have virtually said it all.  What more can we say?  But only hope that
common sense and fair play prevail among the stakeholders in the handling of
the unfortunate 10 and 11 April incident hereafter.

God bless us all.

OB.

obsilla




----- Original Message -----
From: foroyaa <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: 25 April 2000 5:16 AM
Subject: Letter to the Principals and Headmasters


> LETTER TO THE PRINCIPALS AND HEADMASTERS
> The Demand for Principles and Professionalism
>
> Gambian society is in a state of flux. Each change comes with its demands
> and priorities. Such changes call for fundamental alteration in priorities
> and decisions, without which our conduct would be ill-suited for what the
> situation demands.
>
> The issues which now confront the educational system transcend what is
> customary. It is, therefore, absolutely essential that the situation is
> approached with caution and maturity. As administrators of the school
> system, it is your duty to take into consideration the diverse and
> conflicting opinions which are being transmitted regarding the events of
10
> and 11 April 2000 before taking a final posture.
>
> Already attempts are being made by officials of the State to draw you to
> accept a given interpretation of what transpired. We have read reports in
> the Government press indicating that what happened on 10 and 11 April 2000
> is a manifestation of a school system which is breeding vagabonds, bandits
> and criminals. There are insinuations that rebels using the guise of
> students have utilised the cloak of liberty and human rights in order to
> deliver catastrophe upon the society. There is call for the identification
> of leaders for disciplinary action; that principals and headmasters should
> take the posture of disciplinarians so as to prevent the recurrence of
such
> actions in the future.
>
> It is unfortunate that such statements would feature at a time when people
> in position of public trust should be sensitive to the unique
> responsibilities of their office. There is absolutely no doubt that the
> statements constitute an oversimplification of the true picture of the
> situation that prevailed on 10 and 11 April 2000.
>
> What is required at this juncture is to give weight to all suggestions
that
> would help to give appropriate consideration to all perspectives so that
we
> will be able to map out what the circumstances demand.
>
> The diverging views that are being expressed suggest the difficulty in
> assigning accurate weights to the different claims that are being made
> regarding the cause of the incident of 10 and 11 April 2000. The evidence
> that we have been able to gather, though still limited, have shown the
> catastrophic pitfalls which may have given rise to the devastation which
> occurred on 10 and 11 April 2000.  A careful reading of such evidence
would
> render the charge as baseless that criminal tendencies within the school
> system are  to blame for the crisis.
>
> It is elementary knowledge that the students were reacting to tendencies
to
> abuse authority and honour human values with disregard which led to the
> killing of Ebrima Barry and the raping of a school girl. In actual fact,
the
> initial actions of the students were geared towards combating the
tendencies
> that they are being accused of displaying. What can be more criminal than
to
> perpetrate murder or rape? What can be more just than to call for action
to
> apprehend and try the perpetrators?
>
> It is important that in dealing with this sensitive issue that you do not
> pass judgment without compelling evidence to back it. The future of the
> school system lies in your very hands. You are the pillars of the
education
> system. The degree of your sense of professionalism and devotion to
> principles will determine whether the educational system stands firm in
the
> face of the present challenge or crumbles.
>
> In many countries today, the school systems are hardly functional because
of
> crisis. The Gambian school system is not paralysed because of strikes by
> teachers for higher wages; or strikes by students for more allowances. The
> crisis which engulfs the Gambian school system is due to the desire of
> Gambian children for justice to be done and be seen to be done. They are
> struggling for a decent society free from arbitrary arrest, torture and
> rape.
>
> If those who govern the affairs of this country were sensitive to their
> unique responsibilities, they would not have transformed peaceful
> demonstrators into outlaws. What happened at GTTI is yet to be told. A
> Coroner's Inquest is under the way. A Commission of Enquiry will follow.
It
> is, therefore, best to leave the facts to come from the people themselves.
> We have no doubt that what happened at GTTI is the mother of the
devastation
> which occurred thereafter.
>
> All of you know that the Gambian school system simply requires leadership
to
> take the direction that would ensure that the educational institutions
serve
> their primary purpose of developing the powers of the minds of our
children,
> accord them with the skills and knowledge necessary to play their part in
> the general division of labour in our society as well as impart in them
the
> standards of behaviour that are reasonably justifiable in a democratic and
> independent country.
>
> Many diplomats have never failed to be amazed by the quality of debates in
> our school system. Peer group educators are everywhere; young people are
> becoming orators. The yearning for information and knowledge is the order
of
> the day. Gambia is certainly not raising vagabonds and criminals in our
> school system. They are raising young people who are no longer mere robots
> to be programmed, indoctrinated and tele-guided. They are thinking young
> people who have to be convinced, inspired and moved by self-imposed
> discipline.
> It is important to convey to you that the school system has not suffered a
> breakdown. It should not be drawn into the crisis. It is the security
> apparatus which has suffered a breakdown. It is this breakdown which is
> holding the school system as hostage. Authorities fear that the opening of
> schools could lead to the reorganisation of the students. The students
have
> nothing against their teachers and principals. You must not allow anyone
to
> drive a wedge between you and your students.
>
> The situation which confronts the regime is not a complex one. What it
needs
> to do is to simply release all students, hold no trials, allow the
Coroner's
> Inquest and commission of enquiry to proceed and then act on the
> recommendations. The schools will easily return to normalcy if such an
> approach is taken.
>
> The most you can do is to hold parent teachers meetings and inform the
> parents that the school system will strive top meet their expectations if
> they get their cooperation.
>
> What the school system needs are not autocrats taking the guise of
> disciplinarians. What are needed are professional school administrators
> whose minds have been imparted with noble visions of justice, democracy,
> freedom; school administrators who can show concern for the children,
> inspire them to have a sense of belonging to the institutions; to have a
> sense of ownership of public property; to have love for their country and
> people and to rise to a level where they could even turn their backs to
> their own personal interests in order to promote the national interest.
>
> There is no doubt that the movement which emerged in defence of Ebrima
Barry
> and Binta Manneh has that symbolic value. The cause was a moral one. The
> response defeated the cause. Herein lies the root of the problem.
>
> As administrators, it is your duty to examine the demands of the situation
> and give appropriate response to them. The current trend is for the
> President to appease the people by giving a speech without uttering any
> condemnation, visiting the hospital and sending delegations to the
families
> of the deceased while religious leaders, opinion leaders and others are
> reported to be uttering condemnations. No person of principles should
> acquiesce to such an agenda of shifting blames to the victims.
>
> We have confidence you will not be the type of head teachers and
principals
> who would establish draconian codes of conduct which could be relied on to
> arbitrarily expel and suspend children and deprive them of a future? What
> type of future society would you be building by adopting such measures?
Can
> a society survive on hate and vengeance? Are the signs in the world not
> clear enough that what we need is to promote a sense of community; a sense
> of concern for each other's problems? What has given rise to small
children
> taking guns and going to their schools to slaughter their teachers and
their
> fellow students in the United States?
>
> In The Gambia, it was students coming together to call on the authorities
to
> investigate the death and raping of their fellow students. Who needs
cure -
> the students or the system? Who needs indictment - the students or the
> system?
>
> It has long been a tradition for those who manage public affairs to assume
> ownership of public institutions. In actual fact, public institutions are
> properties of the people. The schools are built by the tax money of the
> people. All public officers are paid by the people. Headmasters and
> principals should, therefore, see themselves as employees of the people.
> Governments come and go, but the public service remains. The standards
that
> should be built should not be ones which are based on the whims and
caprices
> of a government, but ones that suit the needs and aspirations of the
people.
>
> The headmasters and principles should not see the government as sovereign.
> They should see the people as sovereign.
>
> What is essential during this critical moment is for the security forces,
> the students, the government and the school administrators and teachers to
> critically analyse what really happened and how each behaved during such
> critical moment.
>
> We hope that you, the administrators of the educational institution, will
> engage in such conduct that would prevent the possibility of circumstances
> as had prevailed on 10 and 11 April 2000 from recurring in the future. You
> have the primary responsibility to ensure that your credibility is not
> eroded by being seen to be apologists of the Government.
>
> We greatly hope that your conduct will be exemplary; that you will
continue
> to engrain in our children a  democratic culture; that you will continue
to
> help them to understand the pitfalls of life; that you will continue to
> assist them to discover their potentialities; that you will continue to
> engrain in them the virtues of shouldering civic responsibilities; that
you
> will imbue in them courage and wisdom, the capacity to discern and make
> rational judgments, the virtues that are required if they are going to be
> the architects of their own destiny.
>
>
>
> ...........................................
> Halifa Sallah
> For: The Editorial Board.
>
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