By Kodjo Adams
Accra, Oct. 22, GNA- The Africa Education Watch (Eduwatch), an education policy advocacy organisation, has called for a nationwide audit of teacher-student sexual misconduct and safeguarding systems in all secondary schools to identify institutional weaknesses and strengthen accountability.
The organisation also called for an independent investigation into alleged sexual abuse involving at least 16 female students of the Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS) and Mr Zakaria Abdulai, the school’s Headmaster.
Mr Kofi Asare, the Executive Director of Eduwatch, said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the investigation of alleged sexual harassment of Obuasi SHTS.
He said the investigation into the Obuasi SHTS allegations must be extended to cover all school, municipal, regional and other education officials whose actions or omissions might have allowed the alleged abuse to continue.
The call follows an investigation by JoyNews and investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni, which documented allegations of repeated sexual abuse spanning more than a year, despite complaints reportedly reaching education authorities.
Eduwatch commended the journalist and JoyNews for bringing the allegations to public attention, saying the revelations raised serious questions about the effectiveness of existing safeguarding, reporting and accountability mechanisms.
Mr Asare welcomed the interdiction of the headmaster and the directive for a criminal investigation but stressed that the administrative action alone was insufficient to address the broader institutional concerns.
He said the school’s Girl Child Coordinator and safeguarding officer petitioned school management in February 2026, while five students reportedly lodged complaints with the Municipal Education Directorate in March.
However, further incidents were allegedly reported in June and July, raising questions about compliance with safeguarding, reporting and referral procedures within the Ghana Education Service (GES).
He said the circumstances pointed to possible failures in the safeguarding chain, from the school to the regional education level, and questioned the capacity and independence of the education authorities to investigate the matter.
The Executive Director called for an independent external investigation to establish institutional responsibility and ensure accountability.
The concerns, he said, extended beyond Obuasi SHTS, citing a JoyNews review that documented 44 reported cases in other schools involving teachers and school heads accused of sexually abusing students between January 2015 and October 2026.
Although the figures did not establish the national prevalence of sexual abuse in schools, he said the organisation pointed to persistent weaknesses in prevention, reporting, investigation and accountability.
Mr Asare said the actual scale of the problem could be greater, particularly where fear of retaliation, stigma and limited confidence in school-level reporting mechanisms discouraged victims from reporting abuse.
He said any official credibly implicated in suppressing complaints, discouraging disclosure, failing to report abuse or compromising safeguarding processes should, where warranted, be temporarily removed from relevant duties pending investigations, subject to due process.
Mr Asare called for appropriate disciplinary sanctions against officials found culpable, with the sanctions made public.
He urged the Ministry of Education and the GES to provide affected students with confidential medical, psychosocial, legal and educational support.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe