Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu has urged the Attorney General and the Minister for the Interior to expedite investigations into alleged sexual misconduct at Obuasi Senior High Technical School. He stated that evidence collected so far suggests a prima facie case has been established, warranting further action by the relevant authorities. The minister assured the public that no individual implicated in the allegations would receive protection from prosecution.
The Obuasi SHTS incident has attracted national attention following allegations of sexual abuse involving female students and the school's former headmaster, Zakaria Abdulai, who was interdicted pending investigations. Mr Iddrisu referred the matter to the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service, the Attorney General, and the Interior Minister for necessary investigations and subsequent legal action.
The minister also appealed for stronger cooperation among traditional authorities, religious organisations, parents, teachers, and students to address increasing indiscipline within educational institutions. He emphasized that maintaining discipline and protecting students required a collective commitment, with schools expected to provide secure environments for young people to pursue their education without fear of abuse or exploitation.
Mr Iddrisu announced a series of investments to expand secondary education infrastructure and improve facilities available to students across the country. The government is committing $300 million towards secondary education infrastructure, alongside plans to construct 10 new model senior high schools, with one facility earmarked for each of 10 regions.
The programme will also involve upgrading 30 Category B senior high schools to Category A standards, aiming to narrow the infrastructure and facilities gap between different classifications of public secondary schools. The proposed expansion is part of the government's broader education reforms following the completion of its review of the Free Senior High School programme, introduced in 2017.
Mr Iddrisu further announced that 12 high-performing senior high schools in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination would benefit from a GH¢250 million allocation through the Ghana Education Trust Fund. The funding will support infrastructure development in selected Category A institutions, including the construction and expansion of dormitories, assembly halls, classrooms, libraries, and information and communications technology centres.
The combined announcements underscore the government's intention to pursue improvements in school infrastructure, expand access to better-equipped secondary institutions, and strengthen accountability within the education system. Mfantsipim School, where the minister made the announcement, is one of the institutions expected to benefit from the proposed infrastructure support.
Key points
- The government has committed $300 million to expand secondary education infrastructure and improve facilities available to students across the country.
