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Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, Education Minister

Education Minister directs investigations into schoolchildren’s involvement in demonstration

The Minister of Education, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, has directed a full-scale investigation into circumstances that led to some schoolchildren straying out of school to join the New Patriotic Party (NPP)-led ‘Won Gbo’ demonstration last Wednesday, February 18, 2015, at the time they were supposed to have been in the classroom.

The pupils were from the Mantse Tackie ‘1’ & ‘3’, Liberty Avenue ‘1’ & ‘4’, Liberty Avenue ‘3’  and Rev. Ernest Bruce Memorial school.

Caution

As an immediate action, the head teachers of the affected schools have been queried, cautioned and asked to be of good behaviour while awaiting the outcome of the investigation.

The Deputy Minister of Education in charge of tertiary, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, who disclosed this in an interview, said, “If the outcome of the investigation shows there was a conscious effort to violate the GES guidelines and regulations, then the code of ethics and the code of conduct of the Ghana Education Service (GES) will have to be applied.”

Footages

He said the footages on television showed the pupils singing unacceptable songs and one of the demonstrators acted as a conductor while others kept urging them on.

Mr Ablakwa said knowing the potential of demonstrations, anything could have happened to any of the children in terms of injuries, adding, “The children should have been protected and should not have been allowed to engage in the demonstration.”

Response to queries

He said the head teachers responded to the queries the same day and their explanation was that it was break time and the gates were opened for the children to go and use the canteen.

The deputy minister said according to the head teachers, when they realised the demonstrators were approaching, they tried to call the children back but the demonstrators prevented them.

He said the ministry took a serious view as to how the children were allowed to join the demonstrators and to engage in inappropriate chants.

“The GES guidelines and regulations are clear as to how children are to be protected at all times and children under the care of teachers should not be allowed to stray,” he said.

He apologised to parents for the incident, saying: “We regret the development. We also want to assure the people of this country that this will not occur again.”

Parameters of investigation

The minister explained that the investigation would look at the level of discipline in those schools, the level of control of those schools and how they allowed the schoolchildren to stray to join the demonstrators.

Mr Ablakwa said the investigations would also look at how the police could not also prevent the children and what role the organisers of the demonstration played in involving the schoolchildren.

He said he was hopeful that the outcome of the investigation would help the GES to come out with new recommendations and guidelines as to how schools should be conducted, “And we have to make sure that we protect our children.”

Writer’s Email: [email protected]

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