Over the next few days we will explore TBI’s broken franchise system in relation to TBI Kelapa Gading, which is now on its third school manager in the past 18 months. We can confirm that Nugraha Pratama (usually known as Nunu) has been removed from the school after a year of dismal failure in the job. We will look at the work history of Nunu, the facts around his poor performance (from multiple witnesses) and explore the reasons why he had to go. But we will also suggest that Nunu is not ultimately most to blame.

   Based on his lack of academic credentials, his history of chronic absenteeism, and his work-shy attitude, he should never have been appointed in the first place. The whole fiasco was due mostly to Ashley Platts, who actively lobbied the owners to have him put in the job in flagrant contradiction of TBI’s own declared policies. Ultimately, in a responsible organisation, it is the man at the top who has to take the blame when things go wrong. Nunu was never cut out for the job (something that was obvious to Cameron and I, and even the TBI Kelapa Gading teachers, from the start), and the bulk of the blame has to go to the people who put him there: Platts, Preece and the Director formerly known as Kartikatresni (she goes by the name of Sukalaksana now, for whatever reason).

   How many times can these “management experts” select and appoint someone who completely crashes and burns before they admit they have no idea what they are doing? Much more on this latest Platts stuff-up over the coming days. There is a lot to this story, and we will go through it in some detail.