Gbarpolu County – The Principal of Gbarma Central High School, Mr. Blama Konneh, has revealed that several students of the institution recently abandoned classes to be initiated into the Sande and Poro Societies, a situation he said will greatly affect their academic progress.
The Poro Society is a traditional secret society (bush school) widely practiced in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea, and Ivory Coast, introduced by the Mande people. It is sometimes referred to as a hunting society, and only males are admitted to its ranks. The female counterpart is the Sande Society, which initiates girls into adulthood through various rituals, including female genital mutilation (FGM). Proponents of FGM claim it confers fertility, instills moral values, and promotes lifelong solidarity among members.
In an exclusive interview with The Liberian Investigator on Thursday, March 13, 2025, on the school’s campus in Gbarpolu County, Mr. Konneh disclosed that about twenty (20) students were involved in the practice after being allegedly encouraged by their peers to join the traditional initiation in Bomi County while classes were still in session.
“Their promotion will be based on their performance from this fourth period onward to the final exams of the 2024/2025 academic year. As you know, they abandoned classes for one month,” he stated.
In Liberia, Sande and Poro are complementary secret societies, with Sande being a women’s initiation society and Poro a men’s society. Both play crucial roles in social and political life while promoting solidarity between their respective genders.
It can be recalled that in 2022, the Chairperson of the National Council of Chiefs and Elders of Liberia (NACCEL), Chief Zanzan Karwor, made a commitment during the launch of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence in Sonkay Town, Montserrado County, on November 25, 2022. Following his pronouncement, Chief Karwor instructed Chief Zoe (traditional practitioner) Massa Kandakai and Paramount Chief Stephen Goba to ensure that all traditional leaders in Montserrado County surrender their documents and ritual implements in preparation for the abolition of FGM in early January 2023.
According to Mr. Konneh, when the Gbarma Central High School administration engaged the parents of the absent students, they responded that they were unaware of their children’s whereabouts.
“We have prepared our reports to be submitted to the new District Education Officer (DEO) regarding the behavior of these students, so she can forward them to the Ministry of Education,” he stated.
Mr. Konneh further disclosed that Gbarma Central High School is grappling with numerous challenges, including:
- Lack of hand pumps for students and staff
- Damaged school auditorium, which was severely impacted by a storm over two years ago
- Lack of proper bathrooms, forcing students to use the nearby bushes
- Delays and disparities in teachers’ salaries
“Students sometimes go into the bushes to defecate because there is no water in the bathrooms, and this could pose serious health risks to both students and teachers,” he lamented.
He is appealing to the government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Education, to intervene in addressing these pressing challenges affecting students and administrators at Gbarma Central High School in Gbarpolu County.
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