SAFE CHILD ADVOCACY (SCA) CONDEMNS ALLEGED SEXUAL ABUSE OF STUDENTS AT OBUASI SHTS, DEMANDS SWIFT JUSTICE AND SYSTEMIC REFORM
Safe Child Advocacy (SCA) condemns, in the strongest terms, the allegations of sexual abuse involving the headmaster of Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS) and a number of female students.
Media reports say as many as 14 students may have been affected. The accounts describe a school leader using his position and authority to lure, silence, and harm the very children he was entrusted to protect. If the allegations are proven, this would be among the gravest betrayals of trust a school can suffer. A school must be a place of safety, learning and dignity for every child.
The SCA acknowledges the headmasterโs interdiction by the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the referral of the matter to the Ghana Police Service CID. We commend the Minister of Education for directing his suspension, and we welcome the GES statement that proven sexual misconduct will result in dismissal. But the allegations are grave, and the public is watching. We therefore call for: a swift, independent, and transparent investigation; prosecution without fear or favour; no reposting or quiet transfer; protection for victims, witnesses, and families; and Continued education and psychosocial support.
This case exposes weaknesses in how our schools prevent, detect, and respond to abuse. SCA recommends:
โข A trained Safeguarding Officer in every school, whether public or private. The officer must be independent of school management, trusted by students, and protected from retaliation.
โข Safe, confidential and accessible reporting channels in every school, such as a helpline, a drop box and designated focal persons. Students must be able to report without fear.
โข Regular, mandatory safeguarding training for all teachers, housemasters and housemistresses, and non-teaching staff. It must cover child protection, professional boundaries, and the duty to report suspected abuse immediately. Staff who ignore, dismiss or conceal disclosures must face sanctions.
โข Regular child-rights and personal safety education for students. Every student should know their rights, what abuse is, that it is never their fault, and exactly where and how to seek help.
SCA calls on the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, GES, the Ghana Police Service, the Department of Social Welfare, the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU), the Ghana Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), parents, teachers, civil society and the media to work together to protect every Ghanaian child. We also urge the media to report responsibly and to protect the identities and dignity of the victims at all times.
Every child in Ghana has the right to learn without fear. Protecting that right is the responsibility of all of us.
โA school that cannot protect its children has failed in its first duty.โ
Sr. Olivia Umoh, DC,
(Director, SCA & Safeguarding Officer, Catholic Archdiocese of Kumasi)
