Who Pays The Price?

 Now, it has been a while. The blog is back. It will go for good only with the departure of the ailments that cripple the once well reputed and prestigious WCC.

The condition of WCC has become so acute that only an amputation is the remedy for the current crisis. 

In the leafy and quiet suburbs of Wessex County College, a strange and unsettling chill is in the air. The end of year examinations have begun. Everyone is nervous. Every student is anxious. Every parent is hopeful. 

Inside the college, things are even worse than feared. At the height of the exam period, problems (even described by some optimists as 'monumental c*ck-ups') are only multiplying. Forget the energy crisis and the possible government rebate and windfall tax. Think of the war on Ukraine type of problem. 

Several issues have come to light this week. Mistakes have happened on a large scale. Students are left out of exam lists and then called at the very last minute, exam rooms are inadequate for running the exams, students dispersed across buildings when they are doing the same exam, mix-ups in exam materials, exams starting late etc.

It is a total mess that defies the theory of organised chaos altogether.

Is it incompetence? No. Staff are well versed on how exams run. The teachers have been teaching, rehearsing, checking, supporting and more. Is it just one of those things? Things just go wrong? No. This is a total disregard of the students' well-being and their interests. It is risking the children's future and the parents' investment in them.

That is the cause of this crisis. The total mess witnessed by all at WCC is the result of mismanagement. Mismanagement of resources, mismanagement of time, mismanagement of experience and expertise, mismanagement of funds and mismanagement of the opportunity to make things right.

The very experienced Examinations Officer (who knew every detail of the exams across all the boards and had intimate knowledge of the school intricacies and knew every teacher and almost every student) had to quit. She asked for extra help as the school has become almost double the size of what it was overnight. She was told she had to work with the very limited means she had or just leave. They said it would be easy to replace her. So, she left. And in came chaos. Another exam officer was employed but, for some reason, left a couple of weeks later.

In their usual wisdom, those in their bunker decided to assign this 'simple' role to one of them. What could possibly go wrong? Add this role to god knows what other roles this LG (Leadership Group) member had and everything will just be fine. Everything is not fine. Far from fine. The LG member is off site on one of the busiest days in the exam timetable. Months after the Exam Officer quit, the role is still vacant and no one at the helm.

Was it for budget reasons? What could possibly justify saving money to the detriment of the students and at the expense of (excuse the intended pun) the most important event in their lives? Who made that decision? Teachers? No. HoDs? No. HoFs? No? Who would make such a monumental decision to ignore a legal requirement by the Examinations Boards to have an Exam Officer in every exam centre? Who decided the school could do without employing one whatever the cost? What happened to 'we have your child's best interest at heart'? Who allowed the person sitting in for the Exam Officer to leave campus on a busy day? What was she doing that is more important than examinations? What was their plan Bea? 

A mishap on the day's of your child that could disadvantage him/her should not happen and plans should have been put in place to avoid a possible c*ck-up. 

Who would be the scapegoat this time? Who will pay the price? How many layers down will the blame be placed? This is the sin of just one layer of management. The one and only. The usual. No one will expect them to fess up and take responsibility.

Meanwhile, hope remains as illusory a thought as Boris J quitting to do the right thing. 

 

Articles coming soon: The Layer Cake, The Legacy, The Good bye Kiss