It is Open Day at Stardom Schools. The teachers at Stardom look forward to gifts from parents that come in cash and kind, especially the class teachers. Some teachers also dread Open Day because parents often come with a lot of complaints. Mr Bepo recalls an episode where an English teacher, Mr Farore was sacked for a trivial complaint made by a parent – Mr Guta. Mr Guta was in the MD’s office asking for Mr Farore to be sacked.
He recalls several other incidents where teachers were sacked. Some who were sacked were guilty and others were just “victims of circumstance or even conspiracy.” He always felt bad whenever he had to write a sack letter. He understands what can drive people to do things like this. He recalls an incident a long time ago when he was out of a job and had no savings. He ‘ate’ the N2,500 electricity tariff he had collected on behalf of the tenants and lied that he had paid it. However, the truth came out when the NEPA officials cut them off. The tenants mocked the “Oga Tisa” and disgraced him in front of everyone.
Mr Bepo was instructed to send for Mr Fafore who was teaching a class. Mr Bepo was not okay with calling a teacher out of the class as it left the students idle. Mr Farore could have given the notes to the class prefect so that the students could continue copying the notes but this practice has been discontinued because a parent had sued the school because of this. They had no other option than to leave the student idle.
While they walked to the MD’s office, the principal questioned Mr Fafore to know why he was about to be sacked but Mr Fafore was clueless as well. He then asked if he argued with Mr Guta but Mr Fafore responded that Mr Guta only walked into the class, checked his son’s books and said nothing before he left abruptly. Mr Bepo broke the news that he had been sacked, and Mr Fafore left for the staff room, devastated. He went to the staff room to collect his personal items where his fellow teachers had heard the news. The teachers concluded that “there was no job security in the establishment.”
At a meeting that occurred immediately after, the MD revealed to the
teacher why Mr Fafore was fired. Mr Guta had discovered a grammatical error
in his son’s note: “Ade as well as Jide comes early”. This made him so angry
that he threatened to withdraw his children from the school. She says that
the sentence should read: “Ade as well as Jide come early.” The principal
responded to the MD’s fiery speech about Mr Fafore’s incompetence by saying
that the sentence Mr Fafore taught was correct. He said:
“When you use ‘and’, the verb that follows is ‘come’. But when you use ‘as well as’, ‘together with’, ‘alongside’, etc., we fo for the singular verb with ‘s’. The clause is in the subjunctive mood and does not align with normal grammar rules.”
The Lekki Headmaster (pg. 33)
Not satisfied with the principal’s explanation, she directed everyone to look it up on their phones. They all discover that both Fafore and the principal are right. The MD felt deflated having sacked a hardworking teacher but Mr Audu breaks the ice with a joke. Eventually, she reemploys Mr Fafore.
