CPC Bali celebrates 75 years of academic excellence, BOBA fetes gold.

Some of the dignitaries in attendance were the Governor of the North West Region, Adolphe Lele L'afrique, former Prime Minister, Philemon Yang, the Fon of Bali, Doh Ganyonga III, and the Mayor of Bali, Wandum Bunga Ernest.

Speaking during the ceremony, the Principal of CPC Bali, Nubed Ransome, appreciated the efforts of BOBA, which worked tirelessly with the school administration to make the occasion a successful one. He outlined some benefits of schooling in CPC Bali.

"Apart from academics, the school has very cherished ideas of hard work, discipline, high moral standards, integrity and social adjustability," he said. 

School’s challenges 

The Principal, however, outlined some of the challenges the school has been facing recently. 

"At the level of personnel, most qualified teachers request for very high salaries which leaves the institution at a struggling economic position," he lamented. 

Nubed added that: "Most of the structures need a facelift, but the funds are limited.  This is added to the devastation the school suffered while it was locked down, areas like the computer lab were tampered with and the auditorium was blown down by wind".

All these, he said, have affected the smooth running of the school. He urged BOBA that has been supporting the school to continue with the endeavours.

Nubed disclosed that even though the number of enrolled students is nothing compared to that before the crisis, it is an improvement from the school being shut down

"The school is still struggling to return to its former glory. We used to have over a thousand students before the crisis began in 2016, but now enrollment stands at 315. We hope to see the numbers continue to improve," he noted.

One step at the time to school’s integrity 

In his address, the President General of BOBA, Prof Duga Ernest Titanji, said the association is working one step at a time to restore the integrity of CPC Bali.  

"The main project we have after this anniversary celebration, is offering the school a multipurpose hall to replace the auditorium that was destroyed due to the closedown of the school," he disclosed. 

"We are not sparing any efforts to make the school return to what it was before it closed down,” Prof Duga said. 

Meanwhile, the Mayor of Bali, Wandum Ernest, praised the hospitality of his municipality for hosting the institution and honoring such an event. He, however, regretted that the present crisis has greatly affected the institution.

The President of the Global Organising Committee, GLOCOM, Kima Victor, said "the members of the committee were drawn from class and chapter presidents from all round the world who met virtually to plan". 

He added that to see anniversaries happening amidst the recent challenges gladdens the heart. 

"I want to appreciate GLOCOM for coordinating and organising activities leading to the celebration and I also want to thank all the BOBAN's who contributed hugely towards the celebration. I am challenging them to find other BOBANs who are missing so together we can realise the dream of gifting our alma mater the multipurpose hall," he added.

North West Governor, Adolphe Lele L’Afrique, on his part, thanked the institution for instilling values in its students through a befitting education, which has produced some very important personalities both in and out of the country.

Former Prime Minister, Philemon Yang, who is also a BOBAN, called on current students to be disciplined, hardworking, consistent and patriotic.  

The 75th anniversary of CPC Bali and golden jubilee of the BOBA were marked by several activities including inter-house sporting competitions, Matterhorn race, Mile race, quizzes, traditional dances, price awards amongst others. All classes from 1953 to 2028 were involved in a march past.

The ceremony ended with the BOBA Annual General Meeting, which led to the adoption of a new constitution. 

CPC Bali was created in 1949 as an all-boys school and only started admitting girls in high school in 1974. Meanwhile, in September 1993, the first batch of girls in the first cycle were admitted into form one.