MPASS headmaster is hot!

GES, SFO descend on him

The Headmaster of the Mpreaso Secondary School (MPASS) is alleged to have connived with a tailor, one Mr Boadu said to over charge students for school uniforms, collected unapproved fees and over invoiced several items including food items.

Patrick Owusu Manu is reported to have offered a five-year contract to sew school uniforms for the school.

The quoted amount of ¢170,000 per student was disbursed as follows: 20,000, 80,000 and 70,000 for the school's administration purposes, the headmaster's personal use and cost of materials for the uniforms respectively.

However a misunderstanding ensued between the two when Mr Boadu requested for an additional amount of 20,000 on each of the student to augment his budget for the materials.

Consequently, the District Director of Education in Kwahu South Nii Okaija Dinsey has confirmed that since he took office in September 2005 his outfit had received two major complaints about the conduct of the headmaster.

The education director said the complaints bothered on over invoicing of school uniforms and the severe flogging of a third year female student for no apparent reason.

Mr Dinsey said he currently constitutes a body to look into the issue as well as other malfeasance leveled against the headmaster.

The Director said the necessary punitive measure would be fully instituted if the headmaster is found culpable after all the investigative processes.

“ I am constituting a body to pay a visit to the school and ask for his side of the story. But that wont end there, he would be called before a disciplinary committee…”he said.

But some concerned staff that wanted to remain unanimous said if the GES does not move in quickly, the headmaster would cover his trails.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) ahs also confirmed that it is conducting investigations into the management of the school from the period that Mr Owusu Manu took office as headmaster.

An official of the SFO in Koforidua said his office requested for books on the financial transactions of the school to be submitted to it.

He continued that even though the office had already taken stock of some of the books, it would need the full compliment of the books in order to conduct effective and conclusive investigations.

Even before the confirmation by the SFO, Mr Owusu Manu had conceded that the organization had requested for those books but said it was only part of the usual audit procedures.

The Headmaster said he has neither received nor replied a query letter from the SFO office in Koforidua maintaining that the requests for the books is just part of the regular external auditing procedures.

A third year final student of the school was severely flogged for sympathizing with 10 girls who had been dismissed for engaging in gang sex party.