The Committee on Human Rights of the Parliament of Ghana has condemned alleged sexual abuse at the Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS) following an exposé by Joy News.
In a statement issued on October 15 and signed by its Chairman, Hon. Ernest Yaw Anim, who is also the MP for Kumawu, the Committee said it had taken notice of the investigation detailing severe allegations of sexual abuse at the school.
According to the Committee, the actions of the head teacher, as alleged in the report, violate Sections 2 and 13 of the Children’s Act of 1998, and Article 34 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
Committee Commends Education Ministry, GES
The Committee commended the Minister of Education and the Ghana Education Service (GES) for the swift interdiction and suspension of the school’s headmaster, Zakaria Abdulai, alongside another housemaster, and the initiation of a full police probe into the incident.
Call for Ethical Conduct and Justice
The Committee further urged school authorities, management, and teaching and non-teaching staff in second-cycle and other educational institutions across the country to exercise the highest forms of ethical, moral and professional conduct in the discharge of their duties and to safeguard the right of children to education.
It also appealed to the justice system to fast-track prosecution of the matter and apply the maximum sentence, once the head teacher is found guilty, in order to serve as a deterrent to prospective sexual abuse offenders.
“The Committee exercising its oversight mandate shall keep an eye on the investigation and prosecution of the case. It is the hope of the Committee that deterrence shall come with policy reviews to safeguard the rights of our children in all educational institutions,” the statement said.
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