Armitage principal decline to comment on dismissal

Reports reaching The Voice newspaper has it that the principal of Armitage Senior Secondary School, Mr. David Haffner has been dismissed on March 24, 2011.

When contacted to shed light on the reason for his removal, he told our news editor to check with the Armitage Board of Governors or the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education.

The reason behind his removal is not clear, however, the Chairman of the Board of Governors at Armitage, Kaunding Tambedou told the Daily Observer that he “received directives from the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education to terminate Haffner’s services with immediate effect”.

Mr. Haffner has served in various capacities at Armitage, rising through the ranks from Junior and senior teacher, Vice Principal and to Principal respectively. He was one of the longest servants of the school, having been there for more than 30 years.

On February 12, 2011, a fracas erupted between Armitage and Bansang Senior Secondary School at the end of the Inter School Zonal Athletic Championship involving Senior Secondary Schools in the Central River Region (CRR) and the Upper River Region (URR).

The event, which was hosted by Armitage at Janjanbureh in CRR, started well but could not end well due to the fracas in which many students were reported to have been injured and some others were briefly admitted at Bansang Hospital.

Principal at the time, Mr. Haffner called the brawl a “minor incident” when he was contacted by this paper.

During the incident, our former correspondent said “window glasses of vehicles were smashed, including Armitage’s school library, the assembly hall and the Vice Principal’s quarters. Fourteen students and non-students were arrested but were released the following morning”.

However, it is not clear if his dismissal has anything to do with last month’s incident.