By Jesse Ampah Owusu
Accra, Nov. 2, GNA – The Ministry of Education is considering the establishment of independent safeguarding offices and confidential reporting channels to allow students to report misconduct without going through their headteachers.
The proposed channels would link directly to independent bodies such as the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit and the Ghana Education Service (GES).
Mr Haruna Iddrisu, the Education Minister, disclosed this at a press briefing in Accra on the Obuasi Senior High Technical School sexual abuse scandal.
He said telecommunications company MTN was prepared to work with the Ministry and the GES to establish a hotline for reporting concerns.
He added that other measures under consideration included stricter mandatory reporting protocols for suspected abuse and inappropriate relationships involving teachers and students, as well as independent reviews of reported cases.
Mr Iddrisu said the Government would provide support for affected students in the Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS) sexual harassment scandal and review existing school regulations to prevent similar incidents in educational institutions across the country.
The Government would strengthen student protection measures and introduce institutional reforms following allegations of sexual abuse involving the students in the school.
“We would work to safeguard and ensure the protection of all students as statutory duty. We intend to deploy all administrative and legal tools to achieve this,” he said.
“Today and into the future this should remain the Government’s most important priority. I call on parents, guardians and students to support the government for this to succeed,” he added.
The Minister gave the assurance that the prosecution of the case would be done without political or governmental interference.
“We will ensure that the sexual assault case is not swept under the carpet,” he said, adding that the Ministry would follow through to ensure justice was done.
Meanwhile, the Obuasi SHTS sexual abuse controversy involves allegations against the school’s headmaster, Zakaria Abdulai.
Investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni revealed allegations of sexual abuse or harrassment of up to 19 female students of the Obuasi SHTS by Zakaria Abdulai, over a two-year period, in his bungalow on campus.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe
Reporter: Jesse Ampah Owusu