Administrative Body of St. Peter's Lutheran High School, situated at 14th Street, Sinkor, Monrovia, is withholding the Graduation Diplomas of three members of the School's 2022/2023 academic year's Graduation set of 58. This graduation was the School's 24th since it resumed academic activities following end of Liberia's civil war that started 1989. The School was established in 1061.
The School's official graduation list shows 41 females and 17 males.
"Three of the graduating students have broken the School's Graduation Protocol. They were caught with harmful substances. We won't mention their names at this program," Mr. Johnny P. Kaleewoun, the School's Co-Chairman of Discipline, and member of the 2022/2023 Graduation Protocol Team, announced at the in-door segment of the graduation program. The event was in the gospel-delivery section of the St. Peter's Lutheran Church, owner of the School.
Mr. Kaleewoun gave additional information about the School's Authority against the three students during an exclusive interview by this journalist outside of the hall after the program.
"The School's authority will hold on to the three students' Diplomas for one year, beginning from today--graduation day. We would have denied each erring students' Diplomas forever, but their parents or guardians begged, so the punishment was reduced to one-year withholding of the Graduation Diploma."
Inside the hall, seconds after relay of the School's administrative body's announcement, a parent said to those sharing seat with her: "On students' consumption of drugs, which the school's official called harmful substance, no grade school in Liberia is exempted. Drugs are being hauled in tons into Liberia by foreigners, in partnership with Liberian Government officials, and the things have entered the students' community, damaging the future leaders of our Country."
The School's Authority had announced 10:00AM as starting time for the graduation, but students began arriving 7am. The vehicles students came through showed the economic status of their parents or guardians. Some came on commercial motorcycles and tricycle (popularly known as "kekeh" in Liberia); others were brought in Jeeps; one of the students came alone in his male parent's moron Jeep.
"My name is Gbobi Michael Yuoh. The car is for my father, the chief mechanic of the political party Alternative National Congress, ANC, of Mr. Alexander B. Cummings," the students responded to this journalist's inquisitiveness of his name and the person whose car he drove to his school campus during graduation day.
Prior to the indoor segment of the graduation program, many members of the graduation group--attired in green hat, yellow long-sleeve shirt, and green trouser or skirt-- entertained guests through wild singing (secular and gospel songs) and wild dances, especially spinning and vibration of their buttocks.
The main program began with a march by the students. The march started from 12th Street, few meters to another High School: William V.S. Tubman High School--owned by the Government of Liberia.
A hired March Brass Band, named Supreme, headed by Josephus Boweh, kept stirring students' dancing spirit with Christian songs. The Band selected "When The Saints Go Marching In" as the Marching Song.
The marching line of graduates was led by the School's Beauty Queen (2021/2022), Ms. Princess T. Johnson, currently in the 12th grade class for academic year 2022/2023.
With help from a team of officers of the Liberia National Police (LNP), the marching body of graduates strode the vehicular express lane at 12th Street, Sinkor, with moving vehicles abruptly halting on the 'stop' gestures of the officers' hands. Two officers escorted the marching students to their school's campus two Streets away.
The graduation band continued their march--and wild dance--on their school campus.
The outdoor segment ended with distribution of the graduation program's booklet to students arranged in two queues.
With a male-female pair, the students filed into the hall. Inside, each person did a 'freestyle dance'--based on instruction from a committee of the School.
"Lord, our students should not fall below the ladder of success. They should remain up the ladder, and be good future leader of their Country," part of a female official's Opening Prayer for the Indoor segment said.
The School's Choir and the graduating group entertained the audience with their personal musical productions during the "Selection" portion of the program. The Choir's was gospel; the graduating group's was secular. "With Joyful hearts, we sing the name St. Peter's Lutheran School" goes another part of the secular song.
"I didn't see Students' Union Government," Madam Yassah V. Wesley, president of the St. Peter's Lutheran High School's Alumni Association, expressed her group's concern during the Remarks segment of the program.
During her Valedictory/Keynote Speaker Introduction speech, Ms. Eve E. Kennedy, member of the graduating class, caused eruption of resounding applause in the audience with her standard pronunciations of words.
"The title of the speech by our Keynote Speaker is, The Importance of Education," she announced.
Later, she came to "Educated African Women", another subtopic, who had contributed immensely to the development of their Countries and served as role models to their female compatriots. She started with Liberia's Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, during her Presidency; a Kenyan renowned educator and champion of women's rights and empowerment in her Country; and came to those of other Countries.
On men, she only quoted some on their understanding of education. She mentioned only three: Former South African President Nelson Mandela; America's negro Malcolm X; and America's most popular African-American Preacher, Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Valedictorian said, she spoke much more about educated women, then she did for men, because women encounter more barriers in their journey to the peak of education than men do.
"Don't put limit on anything related to education. The more you dream about it, the more you will move upward," she said to the women in the audience at the end of her speech.
The Keynote Speaker was Mr. Roland Layfette Giddings, former Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Public Works in the Government of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. During the Presidency of George Manneh Weah, he's attached to universities as consultants, and is working with non-educational institutions.
His speech dwelled on corruption--in the education sector--with comparison to the type in governmental circle.
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He said, Liberia's education sector is being stagnated by classroom teachers' demand for or acceptance of bribes from their students for grades or promotion.
"There's corruption in the education sector, and in the Church," the Keynote Speaker said to his hosts, and added that it's the same in the three Branches of Government--Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary. "Corruption has become a normal way of life."
During an exclusive interview with this journalist and reporter Michael Baryo of SKY FM (107.1), also covering the graduation program, the Keynote Speaker said corruption is rampant in the Government of George Manneh Weah than in the administration of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf he was part of.
"The political will to punish government officials on corruption is lacking in the George Weah Government, unlike during the presidency of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf," the High School's Graduation Keynote Speaker responded to one of the questions from SKY FM's Michael Baryo.
"When I was Deputy Public Works Minister, I sacked over twenty persons on corruption," he replied to Radio Journalist Michael Baryo's other inquiry about his proof to an outsider demanding proof of his "governmental action against corruption in Ellen Johnson's Government."
The 24th Graduation ceremony of St. Peter's Lutheran High School ended with certification for distinctive service and longevity in service or one's presence in the school. Some of those certificated are the School's male Janitor; Mr. Roland W. Bartee, Vice Principal for Academic Affairs; and Ms. Evelyn Z. David, a member of the graduating class, for being the "longest-staying student"--from 2nd Grade to 12th Grade.
