Over Impressive Attendance on 1st Day of New School Year, Ahamdiyya Rokupr Principal Discloses Secret

By: Alusine Rehme Wilson 

Principal of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Secondary School in Rokupr town, Kambia District, Northwestern Sierra Leone Mr. Musa Kojo Daqua Mahmood has told AWE-Media.SL that, “the impressive pupil’s attendance at the school on the first day of the new academic year is a system the school has nurtured 12 years ago.”

According to him, there were a total of 817 pupils that were present on Monday, 5th September, 2022 the very first day of the new school year in Sierra Leone, and of the 817 attendees, there were 120 newly admitted pupils into JSS-I. 

“This is an impressive attendance record for school pupils on the first day of the 2022/2023 academic year,” he acknowledged.

Disclosing that, “to hit such a positive mark has not been easy, he thanked his staff, parents and other partners of education in Rokupr town, Magbema chiefdom and Kambia District at large for their unflinching collaboration with his administration over the years. “

He went on to say: “it’s my staff's dedication to service plus the administration’s regular dialogue with parents and other education partners that has helped us institute discipline, deliver quality education to our pupils  and topped sister schools at public examinations for almost 12 year now.”

“In addition, we’ve always ensured to teach on every school day especially in the first two weeks of every term we don’t get our pupils to sweep the school compound but only ensure to keep all classes tidy and descent while our primary focus has been on teaching thoroughly and keeping the pupils in school throughout the established school time, even if there is just a pupil in a class as it has been some 12 years ago, that pupils is assured of receiving equal education,” he reminisced.

Key among other top secret the school administration has used over the years to improve pupils attendance is to deliver quality and equal education to pupils while ignoring the routine practices by other schools to engage their pupils to pick litters around the school on the first day and to some extent in the first two weeks of every team but constantly engaging Teachers to priorities the pupils during the teaching and learning process as well as parenting the pupils the best way on their parents behalf, the Vice Principal Mr. Joseph Sandi also disclosed during a chat at the school on Monday morning.

Asked if he has any recommendation on how the school’s exemplary model can be emulated by other institutional Heads in the district and nationwide, Mr. Mahmood replied saying “yes, they just need to better organize, inculcate team spirit between them and education stakeholders in their respective community and be discipline at all times and put the pupils interests at the center of the teaching and learning process.”