Until the last few days, Obuasi undoubtedly brought to mind many descriptions that pointed to our nation’s richness in gold, a land of glitter, the town under the rock, as its name suggests in the Twi language and above all, the world’s second largest producer of gold, after Johannesburg, South Africa.
Today, the name Obuasi evokes many negative and unsavoury emotions.
Far from its glorious past, the town is in the news for a wrong reason because of the alleged indecency by one man whose conduct has captured headlines from conventional to non-conventional media.
What began as a whisper in corridors, is now top gossip; the story of Obuasi Senior High and Technical School’s (SHTS) headmaster who allegedly defiled some underage girls in the school
According to the reported story, the headmaster had indecently mishandled and actually slept with 14 to 19 girls of the school in his bungalow.
Per information out there from an investigative documentary put together by ace journalist, Manasseh Awuni, there is no denial that the girls had traumatic experiences in their encounters with their headmaster who tricked them to the house reportedly to perform some chores for him.
Documentary
Watching excerpts from the said documentary, my stomach chomped.
It was so difficult to admit that a responsible adult occupying such a position in a place of learning and formation of character for young minds can and will lower his morals to the level that every detail in the documentary captured.
One single girl as a victim to his torture was inadequate for him.
Over time, it became a practice and many more girls fell at his hands.
How on earth could a head of an institution training teenagers to be future examples in society stoop so low?
Until his top was blown off by Mr. Awuni’s investigation, these girls were suffering silently, psychologically traumatised, because even the adult teachers they had confided in were of no help in terms of confronting the head teacher.
And of course, those victims of his despicable and antisocial acts may have been silenced and described as “bad girls” when they shared their horrendous experiences, expecting some psychological help and possibly the transfer of the man from their environment.
Now, he cannot hide anymore and continue with his abhorring behaviour.
His cup is full. So full to the brim that the lid cannot fit any more.
It is no joke what he has done to the dignity of these teenagers who were literally put under his watch as Head of the school.
Are they going to be hunted by the presence of men for the rest of their lives?
Are they ever going to feel safe and confident in a school environment where male teachers will smile at them if even for a right reason?
And with the shock they have been through, who is talking about their psychological and emotional healing?
Who is seeing to the countless heart throbs and stresses they may encounter, coming out as rape victims? What are the help opportunities available to them?
The issue at the Obuasi Secondary Technical School has laid bare one key and perhaps silent trauma our young girls go through, sometimes at the hands of people they respect in their communities and above all, in a place where one expects nothing but safety and conducive atmosphere for learning and the shaping up of their moral well-being.
Education support systems
This squarely puts into perspective whether the Ghana Education Service has, as part of its structure at the district levels, school health, school councillors, social workers and the like, assigned specifically to schools and who, outside the classroom, are also looking at the total wholeness of school children as obtains in some jurisdictions.
In such jurisdictions where these education support systems operate, school nurses are assigned from the district health level and visit their assigned schools once every quarter, to attend to health challenges spotted by teachers and escalated to specialist’s level if they impinge on the child’s progress at school.
Sometimes the school nurses even schedule immunisation on site for those children who were due.
With such systems in place, the emotional and physical concerns of young learners are taken on board with teachers and parents in the interest of the child. In a case of psychological trauma as one sees in the documentary, the services of the school health department would be found indispensable.
Then also are the cases of school councillors and social welfare officers.
They all provide holistic educational support for school children in times of stress.
In a fast moving world, gradually complicated by the internet and Artificial Intelligence (AI), children are dangerously exposed.
Whether at home or in school, support systems performed by specially trained professionals are always complimentary.
There must therefore be a need for the health and safety protection of school children, particularly the more vulnerable - girls.
Schools, as part of the child development system, should be intentional with measures like their health, safety and emotional wholeness as parents also play their part at home.
The issue at stake at the Obuasi SHTS has been a rude awakening and all should be on board for the safety of children while in school care.
Writer’s email:
