Kumbungu SHS students demonstrate against headmaster

Students of Kumbungu Senior High School (SHS) Monday morning staged a demonstration against the school’s headmaster Francis Tia Dokurugu accusing him of failing to supervise teachers resulting in students’ poor performance.

Joy News’ Northern regional correspondent, Martina Bugri reports that first and second-year students of the school started the protest in the Monday morning at about 8am.

The students say teachers often turn up late for work, routinely missing their first lessons and leaving before the last lessons in order to catch the afternoon bus to Tamale where many of them reside.

Tamale is 22kilimeters from the school and is a one hour journey by motorbike.

According to the students, for the past two years, students of the school who sat the West Africa Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) performed poorly.

The school was ranked 483 out of over 700 schools who participated in the 2013 SHS league table of academic performance.

Only 19.2% of the 368 students passed in six to eight subjects during the 2013 WASSCE.

Martina Bugri reports that there is little semblance of ongoing academic work although final-year students are preparing for exams later in the week.

Final-year students did not take part in the demonstrations.

The students have also accused the headmaster of converting bungalows meant for teachers into hostels for female students.

Kumbungu SHS is struggling with serious infrastructure problems for its 1,200 students.

There is an unusual practice where a majority of the students live on rented apartments outside campus because of a lack of boarding facilities.

The headmaster was not available for comment.