Money Galore [antikvár]

It was nine in the morning. The pupils of National Secondary School, Cape Coast, had had a break and were taking a fifteenminute breakfast. The headmaster, Mr Benjy Baisi, tall, broadshouldered and full of good looks, was chewing the end of a I| pencil. He had slapped a boy before this for chewing a pencil in the mathematics class. The boy had just paused from working |g out long additions and subtractions. He found them difficult. Mr Baisi was himself a gifted mathematician and, though now the headmaster, he still enjoyed teaching maths in the top class. Mr Baisi had a secret disrespect for boys who could not grapple with mathematics in the school, and was profoundly suspicious if those i who never did well in the subject at school were reported to be doing well in life. Mr Baisi happened to be doing additions and subtractions. This ; was caused by a letter which he had received from the Department of Welfare Services and Pedagogy. The last few sentences l of the letter read: 'And I am directed to convey to you that no extra fees should be charged from pupils to offset any temporary deficit that may occur in the school budget as a result of this cut. f It would be appreciated if headmasters would refrain from taking bank loans as this in the past has led to infringement of the Financial Rules and the Department has had to take disciplinary action against a few financial malefactors reported by the Auditor-General.' The letter ended: 'I have the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient Servant, M. K. Tawia.' This both annoyed and amused Mr Baisi. Mr Tawia had been his senior at school and was now, in the civil service. He had always been snobbish, especially when he became Assistant Director of the Department of Welfare Services and Pedagogy. After