School Closed, Six Students Arrested, Headmaster Hospitalized as Education Ministry Orders Probe
By Prince Ahenkorah
The Obuasi Municipal Assembly has ordered the indefinite closure of Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS) following a violent disturbance that left the school’s headmaster seriously injured and resulted in the arrest of six students.
The closure comes after tensions on the campus escalated into violence, prompting the deployment of police officers to restore calm and protect lives and property.
According to reports, the unrest began after some students alleged that Headmaster Abdulai Zakaria had been seen burying a fetus in a nearby bush.
The students further claimed the alleged incident was linked to an alleged abortion involving a student. Authorities have, however, not confirmed the allegations, which remain under police investigation.
The allegations sparked outrage among students, who confronted the headmaster during the early hours of Wednesday. The headmaster was assaulted during the confrontation and sustained severe injuries.
Mr. Zakaria was initially admitted to the AngloGold Ashanti Hospital in Obuasi before being transferred to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi for specialist treatment.
Obuasi Municipal Chief Executive, Faustilove Appiah Kannin, disclosed that the headmaster suffered a fracture to the head.
“He has a fracture in the head. And that is why he has been rushed to Komfo Anokye,” she said in an interview on Asaase Breakfast Show.
Police have arrested six students in connection with the assault and have launched investigations into the incident. The students are also alleged to have vandalised school property, including three staff bungalows, vehicles and other valuable assets during the violence.
As part of the ongoing investigations, police reportedly exhumed the body believed to be that of a baby from a location identified by students.
Authorities have not officially confirmed the identity of the remains or established any connection between the discovery and the allegations against the headmaster.
The Municipal Assembly said the decision to close the school indefinitely was taken as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of students, teaching and non-teaching staff, while preventing further disturbances on campus.
The violent incident has disrupted academic activities, with teaching and learning suspended as security agencies maintain a heavy presence on the school’s premises.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education has condemned the assault on the headmaster, describing the attack as reprehensible and criminal.
In a statement signed by the Deputy Minister for Education, Dr. Clement Abas Apak, the Ministry directed the Ghana Education Service (GES) to immediately investigate the incident and ensure that anyone found culpable faces appropriate sanctions.
“The Ministry considers this act of violence and lawlessness as reprehensible and criminal. Such conduct has no place within Ghana’s educational institutions and will not be tolerated under any circumstances,” the statement said.
The Ministry further stated that the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has instructed the GES to undertake a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding the unrest.
It added that it would collaborate with the GES, the Ghana Police Service and other relevant state institutions to strengthen discipline in schools, protect school authorities and students, and ensure educational institutions remain safe environments for teaching and learning.
Authorities in Obuasi are continuing to assess the security situation at the school as police investigations into both the assault and the allegations that triggered the unrest remain ongoing.
No official findings have yet been released, and the circumstances surrounding the alleged burial of the fetus remain unclear.