HARBEL, Margibi – An ongoing leadership crisis between the Harbel Multilateral High School’s administration and teachers appears to have been resolved by the school’s Alumni Association.

The impasse at the school began after a vote of no confidence in the principal by aggrieved teachers. Rev. Joseph Koilor led the teachers’ action.

The Alumni Association recently constituted a two-man fact-finding committee consisting of Francis Kpaka and Prince Marley and charged them with the responsibility of identifying the causes.

In its findings, the committee said one of the root causes of the crisis was a letter that Principal Beevaye Mortee wrote to the District Education Office. Mortee told the DEO that she was unwilling to work with the vice principal for administration, Jimmy Keyan.

She alleged that Keyan had facilitated numerous criminal activities at the school and that she had lost confidence in him. The committee said Mortee’s letter spurred the vice principal to mobilize a group of teachers to draft a resolution of no confidence in her.

The committee found that the second major cause of the crisis was an unrelated issue pertaining to Harbel College’s use of the Multilateral High School’s facilities. The recently established Harbel College had wanted to use the high school’s facilities for its college preparatory classes in addition to acquiring a portion of its land for the construction of the college.

The aggrieved teachers accused Mortee of blocking the establishment of the college by preventing its use of the Multilateral High School’s campus. They alleged that she had, in the past, convened meetings with teachers and the Parents Teachers Association urging support against the use of the school’s facilities to commence operations of the Harbel College.

“Most recently, she attacked a team of surveyors who came to work for Harbel College and we see this counterproductive to the growth and development of the student community and the human resource capacity building process,” the teachers stated in their decision.

In response, Mortee said she was not against the operations of the Harbel College on the Multilateral School campus. Rather, she said she had problems with the channel used by the college through Representative Ballah Zayzay. She said Zayzay should have received the High School’s consent to use their facilities before directly requesting the Ministry of Education to allow them to use it.

“If I was against the college, how then is the college using an annex of the school as its offices? [How is the college using] our classrooms to run [its preparatory classes] and my witnessing of the memorandum of understanding between the college and the Ministry of Education,” she told the investigators.

The Alumni Association’s fact-finding committee has sided with the principal on this issue. The committee praised the principal for her stance as she is the chief custodian of the school’s properties.

Another reason cited in the teachers’ call for Mortee to resign as principal is her alleged refusal to reside in the living unit provided for the school’s principal by Firestone-Liberia. Instead, she commutes from Kakata to Harbel daily. The teachers say that makes her inaccessible when most needed.

Mortee has admitted to not residing in the official principal unit in Harbel because it was being occupied by Peace Corps personnel assigned at the school prior to the Ebola crisis.

The teachers also accused the principal of mismanagement of funds generated by the computer laboratory, hall rental and fees provided by the University of Liberia. They said the school’s infrastructure and other services were lacking because Mortee misused these funds.

Next, Mortee was accused of overcharging fees, against the government’s regulation for public schools in the country, and that she was inept to manage the school.

On the allegation of overcharging fees against the government’s policy, Mortee said the extra fees charged were approved by the PTA and all funds generated are immediately placed in the school’s account. She also said any withdrawal from that account is based on needs and agreements among relevant parties.

Recommendations of the Committee

The Alumni Association committee has recommended that Mortee immediately move into the premises provided as the official residence for the principal in order to ensure effectiveness.

Harbel Multilateral High School Alumni Association Fact-Finding Committee member, Prince S.D. Marley (Photo: Gbatemah Senah)

It has also recommended a conference between members of the Harbel Multilateral High School and Harbel College administrations, Zayzay, and the PTA to strengthen the relationship between the college and the high school. The committee also recommended that the school administration should be the first contact point for the use of its facilities.

Furthermore, the Alumni Association recommended that the principal makes a comprehensive financial report of all funds received, with the exception of school fees, since the inception of her administration with the commissioning of an independent audit by the Ministry of Education. It also recommended that the PTA decisions on extra fees be re-examined to reflect a significant portion of the membership with appropriate action from the Ministry of Education to prevent recurrence.

In order to prevent future conflicts, the Alumni Association recommended a periodic meeting of members of the administration, teachers and support staff to share information about developments in the school.

Meanwhile, teachers were encouraged to formally engage the principal with their grievances. The report proposed that the PTA make a comprehensive status report, including financial transactions and tangible initiatives it has undertaken, to the general membership in a meeting that will be publicized.

The Alumni Association also proposed an election to bring about a new leadership for the PTA, adding that the present leadership has outlived its term.

The aggrieved parties have all welcomed the initial reports although they are reserving comments until they receive official copies of the complete report.

The Alumni Association has offered to lead a proposed one-day roundtable conference that will bring together members of the school administration, the interim management team of Harbel College and Zayzay.

Featured image courtesy of Gbatemah Senah