ANUM PRESBYTERIAN SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

MINUTES OF STAFF MEETING HELD ON 29TH NOVEMBER, 2023

Venue: Library Time: 1:00 pm

1.0 OPENING
The meeting commenced at 1:00 pm with a prayer led by Mr. Elvis Amoah. The Headmaster,
Rev. Richard Asafo-Adjei, who chaired the meeting, expressed his gratitude to the staff
members and encouraged them to continue working together as a team to ensure the smooth
day-to-day running of the school.
1.1 APOLOGIES
The following members sought verbal permissions:
i. Mad. Favour A. Donkor- (General Arts Department) - Indisposed
ii. Mr. Isaac Adenyo - (Languages Department) - Indisposed
iii. Mrs. Delali Kumah
iv. Mr. Robert K. Akpla-Kweku
v. Mr. John N. Larweh

1.2 Attendance
A total of 75 staff members attended the meeting, consisting of 69 teaching staff and 6 non-
teaching members. During the meeting, five (5) teaching staff members sought verbal
permission. The attendance list is attached for your attention.
1.3 Previous Minutes
During the meeting, the Chairman requested that the necessary corrections be made to the
previous general staff meeting minutes dated 11th August, 2023. After the required
corrections were made, Mr. Eugene Adjei Danso moved for the minutes to be accepted as a
working document of the House, with the permission of the House. Mr. Robert Ayenbono
seconded the motion.

2.0 Matters arising out of the previous minutes.

i. Canteen issues
The Chairman requested an update on the current status of the canteen. According to Ms.
Sarah Inkoom, the Assistant Headmistress (Domestic), the canteen is operational, but not
fully completed, especially with regards to the block works and seating arrangements for
students. She also mentioned that the measures put in place to ensure competition are
yielding positive results, with improved quality and quantity of food served.

ii. Examination results

- Rev. John A. Donkor, the School Chaplain, expressed his dissatisfaction with the lateness
of submission of exam results and the complaints from some parents. He urged colleagues
to improve their performance in marking exam scripts and inputting scores on the exams

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 report portal for onward transmission to parents. He suggested that deadlines be set for
teachers to ensure prompt and timely entry of marks

- Mr. Jones Appiah and Mad. Joyce Mantey raised concerns about the difficulties some
teachers face when entering scores into the report portal. They suggested that the
technicalities involved could be addressed by assigning a permanent ICT personnel to do
the entries on behalf of the teachers.

- Mr. Samuel Kporfor raised concerns about the delay in updating the score entry system for
fresh entries. He also suggested that arranging students’ names in alphabetical order would
help ease the process of entering scores.

- Mr. Ortiz Antwi raised concerns about the difficulties in tracing the names of some
students who change classes along the line of teaching and learning, making it difficult to
provide them with appropriate scores. In response, the Chairman requested all Form
masters to provide his outfit with their updated class lists, which were to be signed.
According to him, these lists would be used to reconcile with the existing data at the ICT
office.

- Mr. Michael Boateng stated that the system does not accept blank entries. As a result,
teachers are unable to enter marks for students who are on indefinite suspension, without
which the system will flag entries as incomplete. The Chairman responded by stating that
it cannot be concluded that the affected students will not return. He also advised that some
marks be awarded to them, as is done everywhere.

- The Chairman expressed his disappointment that colleagues from the ICT office were not
present at the meeting to address the concerns raised by some teachers. He also stated that
teachers are responsible for entering results and that punitive measures will be put in place
to check teachers who delay in entering marks

iii. Security Issues

- According to the Chairman, Mr. Paul Donkor, the new security man, was doing a great
job. However, the school still needed extra hands to help with general security on
campus. The Chairman stated that he had requested additional security personnel to
complement the limited hands in ANSEC. This decision hinged on the promise made by
the Deputy Minister of Education to provide the school with additional non-teaching staff
during the school’s 125th Anniversary celebration.

- The Chairman mentioned that the Anum Traditional Council had promised to support the
school by providing additional personnel to help with security on campus. He added that
as and when necessary, the personnel would be taken through an orientation and officially
introduced to the staff to properly acquaint themselves with them.

iv. School Uniform

- According to the Chairman, starting next year 2024, all Form 3 students will wear white
shirts with a blue band around the lower part of their sleeves. Day students will have a
blue collar in addition to the blue band on their sleeves to distinguish them from boarders,
who will maintain their white collar.

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- The School Chaplain brought to the attention of the House that the Form Twos did not
have church cloth. He suggested that students bring their own cloths (Slit and Kaba for
girls) from their various homes when school resumes the following year. The Chaplain
believed that this would ensure variation in students’ dressing and also encourage them to
appreciate their Ghanaian culture and tradition. The Chairman added his voice by saying
that it was a brilliant suggestion. He went further to suggest that students who could
afford the local footwear “Ahenema” and “Chawchaw” be encouraged to buy and wear
them

v. 125th Anniversary Celebration

The Chairman expressed gratitude to the Staff members for their invaluable support and
sacrifices that ensured the success of the anniversary.

vi. School Farm Project

Mr. Eugene Danso reported that the farm project had planted tomatoes, beans, and
mangoes and to expand the project, more seedlings were needed. The Assistant
Headmistress (Domestic) added that drought and caterpillars were destroying the farm
and in order to combat this, plans were in place to add Turkey berries, which were more
drought and pest resistant. The Chairman encouraged all departments to come up with
innovative ideas on how to generate IGFs (Internal Generated Funds) for the farm project

3.0 Business of the Day

i. Three (3) new staff members were introduced to the House by the Chairman. They were;
Name School attended Department
i. Felicia Yeboah University of Ghana Home Economics
ii. Ida Boateng Uni. Of Education - Winneba Languages
iii. Patience Tetteh Uni. Of Education - Winneba Languages

ii. Introduction of new PTA Secretaries

The Chairman introduced and congratulated Mr. Henry Tetteh and Mr. Eugene Danso as
the new PTA Secretary and Assistant Secretary, respectively

iii. Form 1 Admissions

- During a meeting, the Senior House Master, Mr. Wilson Okpantey, advised staff
members to ensure that the right protocols relating to students’ admissions and general
welfare are duly followed. He mentioned that some teachers at times interfere and
obstruct the smooth running of his office when matters relating to students are brought to
him.

- Mr. Dennis Kwaky raised concerns about the admission process of ANSEC. He
questioned why ANSEC was not doing online admissions as practiced elsewhere but
rather opted for the manual process which according to him puts stress on both parents
and teachers. In addition, he said it had encouraged the influx of ‘Goro boys’ who at
times disrupt the smooth flow of admission processes.

- The Chairman responded by saying plans were far advanced for the school to adopt the
online process and it was to be used for the current Form 1 admissions.

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- Mr. Elvis Amoah suggested that the school could give teachers some form of protocol by
allowing members to bring on board at least 2 students each during admissions.

- The Chairman stated that the only exception to the admission policy was when the
applicant was the biological son or daughter of a staff member, in response to Mr. Elvis
Amoah’s petition.

iv. Entertainment
Rev. Michael Mintah suggested introducing various entertainment activities to refresh
the minds of students. The Chairman asked the Entertainment Master to discuss the
raised issue with him later.

3.1 ACADEMIC ISSUES

a. Professional Learning Community (PLC)

The Chairman urged staff members to prioritize the exercise as the second session had
begun in earnest. Nicholas Asiedu mentioned that attendance was greatly affected during
the beginning part of the second session due to invigilation and encouraged members to
join in when the new academic year begins.

b. Vacation and Reopening dates

According to the Chairman, the school was scheduled to vacate on November 30th, 2023.
Form 3 students were to report on January 3rd - March 28th, 2024 and resume again on
April 17th - August 23rd, 2024. Form 2 students were to resume academic activities from
March 8th - May 9th, 2024. The Chairman also mentioned that the first-year students,
numbering 1301, were to be officially welcomed on December 4th, 2024, until they go
back for the Christmas holidays and resume again on January 3rd - March 5th, 2024.

- Mr. Jones Appiah complained of exhaustion due to the heavy workload associated with
his long stay in school.

- Mr. Sylvanus Dzomeku suggested that ANSEC should bring on board a sufficient number
of National Service personnel to supplement the efforts of teachers. However, according to
the Chairman, some of the personnel who were posted changed their postings and did not
report to ANSEC. Mr. Jones Appiah, on the other hand, believed that providing incentives
such as accommodation on campus and feeding service personnel with either breakfast or
supper would encourage newly posted personnel to come to ANSEC. According to Mr. Jones
Appiah, the decision of newly posted personnel to report to ANSEC will depend on the
information they receive from their predecessors.

- The Chairman instructed all Heads of Department (HODs) to ensure that no teacher
handles only one year group, but at least two. He warned that any HOD who violates this
directive will be held accountable and their salary payment will not be validated.

3.2 DOMESTIC ISSUES

The Assistant Headmistress (Domestic), showed her appreciation to the staff for their
contribution and resolute sacrifices throughout the year. She spoke on the following:

a. Routine of the School

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 She mentioned that the activities of practical-oriented courses/departments interfered with
the normal routine of the school. She implored stakeholders to structure their activities
and liaise with management in advance to ensure the smooth running of school business.

b. Late eating
She spoke on the issue of students developing a habit of eating late into the night and
asked the House how best to address the problem.

c. Rent and accommodation

She expressed her satisfaction with the current payment process. However, she mentioned
that she was still waiting for the submission of forms that had been given out to tenants in
order to undertake inventory activities.

d. She thanked the Sanitation/Compound Committee members and entreated Form masters
as well as House parents to continuously help with supervision during field work.

e. Reverse Osmosis machine

She gladly announced to the House the benevolent gesture the Volta Presbytery had made
in helping the Boys’ yard to also secure a Reverse Osmosis machine and thanked them
for their invaluable support.

3.3 ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES

The Assistant Headmaster (Administration), Mr. Issah Bawah acknowledged colleague
members for their support and unwavering display of teamwork to help build Mother
ANSEC. He spoke on the following:

a. Disciplinary Issues
i. Group A:
According to him, six (6) boys out of nine (9) students were involved in the molestation
of first-year students and have been indefinitely suspended. Additionally, one (1) female
student out of the remaining three (3) was also given an indefinite suspension for taking a
French leave home. The remaining two (2) students were given two weeks of internal
suspension with hard labor. He mentioned that the students went to town looking for
water during the water crisis but did not return to school
ii. Group B:
According to the Assistant Headmaster (Administration), five (5) out of seven (7) 2nd
Year boys were sent home indefinitely for fighting among themselves on November 24th,
2023. The remaining two (2) students were given two weeks of internal suspension with
hard labor for their involvement in a case of assault. He added that the two students were
required to sign a bond of good behavior afterwards.

b. New Committees
According to him, a new list will come out for new committees to be set up when school
resumes for the next academic year.

c. Closing ceremony and induction of new prefects

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 There was going to be a Closing ceremony and the induction of new prefects at the Dining
hall. He encouraged all teachers to be present.

- He entreated all HOD’s to make arrangements so that teachers who will be teaching Form
1s be available to help welcome the First Years.

4. OTHER MATTERS

-Mr. Robert Ayenbono expressed his concern about certain invigilators who appear indifferent
during exams and allow students to cheat.

- Mr. Eugene Apotsey expressed his dissatisfaction with some teachers who prematurely
collected answer booklets from students before the allotted time for the end of Semester
exams.

- The Assistant Headmistress (Domestic), introduced Madam Celestine as the substantive

Housemistress for Kumi House and was to be assisted by Madam Mary Boatemaa. Madam
Favour Donkor was also introduced by the Assistant Headmistress as the main Housemistress
for Ramseyer House and Madam Victoria Habia being her assistant

Mr. Samuel Kporfor moved to adjourn the meeting in the absence of any further deliberation.
His motion was seconded by Mr. Robert Ayenbono.
Rev. John A. Donkor led the closing prayer at the meeting at 3:07 pm

Compiled by: Approved by:

……………………. ………………………….
Patrick S. Atitsogbui Rev. Richard Asafo-Adjei
Secretary Headmaster