Under Babawo… PVSS from Zero to Hero
One of the oldest schools in Kailahun District, the Pendembu Vocational Secondary School, Pendembu, Eastern Sierra Leone was one of the worst hit by the decade-long rebel incursion in this republic. Most of the school’s structures were razed to floor level and the teachers and pupils displaced for a considerable length of time.
However, the school is now fast regaining its past glory under the just-few years dynamic, dedicated and development-oriented leadership of a model principal called, Amara Babawo who has succeeded significantly in resuscitating the school from hero to zero; from grass to grace. The school is now rated as one of the best in Kailahun District in terms of academic performance and infrastructure.
During my most recent visit to Kailahun to attend the funeral of the late Honorable Alice Foyah, I passed a night with Mr. Babawo in his quarters and the following morning I toured the school campus and witnessed that most of the buildings have been well renovated, painted and are shinning. Only few buildings still have the scars of war. Pendembu residents confirmed to me that for the past few years of Babawo’s administration, the school has been topping the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
When I asked Babawo what magic he has been using to rapidly transform the war-ravaged school to such a glorious height, he responded that he has been employing four major strategies, discipline, devotion, honesty and encouragement.
“I always make sure my that my teachers are in class teaching and my pupils are in class learning; I have no room for late comers or truancy and I ensure that I enroll only qualified teachers and pupils and encourage and discipline them as occasion demands,” the principal said, recalling that sometime ago, he was compelled to dispense very qualified, intelligent and diligent teachers who sexually abused school girls. The principal further explained that his honest and judicious use of school funds has been enabling him to be rehabilitating the vandalized school structures.
Many educational authorities have rated Amara Babawo as one of the best principals in Kailahun District and a role model who other principals must emulate.
By Joseph Milton Lebbie
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