Grievances can be aired without violence

It is sad that 17-year-old Rakid Akio, a Visual Arts student of the St Paul’s Senior High School (SPACO) at Denu in the Volta Region, had to lose his life as a result of violence by his schoolmates last Friday.

The incident occurred during a stand-off between rampaging students and the police over an alleged case of sodomy involving two students.

The school has been closed down indefinitely due to the student unrest that also resulted in the destruction of property.

As we do not subscribe to any acts of immorality by students sent to school by their parents to study, we also vehemently denounce any form of violence perpetrated by students with the excuse of stating their displeasure on an issue.

School demonstrations are not new to us, but we recommend dialogue between the student body and the school authorities at all times, since demonstrations most of the time end up in violence.

Last year, students of the Bolgatanga Senior High School (BIG