"D. Huppenbauer's Annual Report on Schools in the Kibi District"

5 ex-pupils of the school entered the Middle School at the beginning of the school year, while 5 more entered the teacher's seminary. Three of the latter have already come away - they say on account of the many blows they had received. Huppenbauer appears not to discount this altogether. In the first half of the year there were 35 pupils in the school, and in the second half 43. New pupils were only taken into class I if they came from West Akim and Obomosu. From other outstations they came with enough grounding to enter a higher class. They are economising by reducing the amounts paid out to provide food for each boy each month - the sum has already been reduced by 3d, if it were reduced by 5d they would save £10 p.a. The problem is that it is so difficult to get money out of parents or relatives for schooling. The situation is going to make for problems especially when the boys arrive in the Middle School. Most of the relatives are heathen, so where will they get money for payment? Two of the new pupils in the Middle School have had £1 of support from a Christian uncle, but then only after in one case Huppenbauer himself had contributed 15/-. In the other case the uncle asked that if he was going to pay for his nephew's schooling the mission should recognise nephew inheritance in this case. The outcome looks as if it will be matter of Akim schoolboys, attending the Teacher's Seminary, where no payment is required, but this is a serious matter as it would mean that no native Akim's became catechists. He regrets Anoba's leaving the school, and describes him in glowing terms as having loved the boys and gained their trust 'as no European could have done'. There is a subscript from J. Müller as District Inspector of schools in which he defends what had happened to the three Akims in the Teacher Seminar. They had written two letters between them. One from one Thomas Agyei, explained that he wanted to become a carpenter. The other jointly from John Wusu and Robert Nkoroma complained of hard handling by teacher Medegbo, but they ran away like thieves in the night, and the principal believes the real trouble was their 'weak gifts', and knowledge in the face of the demands made on them. Müller is philosophical about the loss-rate among Akims, they do: not take to an orderly life, very few have become satisfactory mission employees, another (Teacher Oware) has just left mission employment. It appears too that teacher Botwe had recently 'fallen' and had lost his job in the school.

27.12.1881

27.12.1881

Text