Students of Hark Mount Sinai Senior High School and Okuapeman Senior High School in Akuapem North Municipality of Eastern region have been ordered to vacate their campuses by Wednesday afternoon following violent clashes between the two schools, which resulted in the destruction and burning of properties and injuries to at least some students and one police officer.
Classrooms, Storeroom, toilet facilities, furniture were set ablaze at Okuapeman SHS while Hark Mount Sinai also suffered arson attack of store room and toilet facility.
The Eastern Regional Security Council (REGSEC), led by the Eastern Regional Minister, Rita Akosua Adjei Awatey, on Wednesday visited the two schools to assess the situation and restore calm.
The delegation included the Eastern Regional Police Commander, DCOP Owusu Bempah, and the Regional Liaison Officer of the Regional office of the National Security Secretariat, Francis Annor Dompreh,Regional Education Director Ivy Asantewa Owusu, among other security and education officials.
The visit followed disturbances involving students of the two schools lastnight during which properties were reportedly damaged and burnt while stones hurled by both students.
REGSEC subsequently directed all students to leave the campuses as investigations continue into the incident.
Addressing students, the Eastern Regional Minister Rita Akosua Adjei Awatey described the incident as unfortunate and said the conduct of the students fell far below government’s expectations of young people being trained to become responsible future leaders.
“We are building a nation, not destroying one. It is a very sad note. This is not what we are looking for from you,” Rita Akosua Adjei Awatey said.
“Our expectation as government is that we are growing you up for the future, so that one day, when we are not in, we’ll get a President among you, a minister among you, a teacher among you, a policeman among you [and] a fire service person among you.”
She expressed concern over reports of students engaging in stone-throwing and retaliatory attacks instead of allowing authorities to intervene.
The Minister stressed that government was investing heavily in educational infrastructure to improve conditions in schools and eventually end the double-track system.
“Now that government is making sure we build the infrastructure that will take care of you so that the double track stops and we have single track, this is what you have decided to do,” she stated.
“We are building a nation; we are not destroying a nation. We are resetting our schools and resetting you students too.”
Madam Awatey announced that students had been directed to vacate the schools, warning that security agencies would not allow those responsible for the violence and destruction to escape punishment.
“Investigations are going on. Those who started throwing the stones here, both here and Okuapeman, we are not going to allow you to go scot-free,” she warned.
She advised students to return peacefully to their respective homes immediately after being released by school authorities and cautioned them against engaging in any further disturbances.
The Eastern Regional Police Commander, DCOP Owusu Bempah, described discipline as a shared responsibility, noting that school authorities could not adequately manage a large student population if students deliberately chose to be unruly.
“If you decide to be unruly, your headmaster and the staff cannot take care of you. They cannot handle the situation,” he said.
He warned students against taking the law into their own hands, particularly in situations involving mob action.
“We cannot arrest the entire school, but we know the ringleaders. We will look for the ringleaders, and it’s a promise from me: we will prosecute you,” DCOP Owusu Bempah stated.
The Regional Police Commander further warned that students who failed to comply with the directive to vacate the schools or attempted to regroup with individuals outside the schools to cause further disturbances would be dealt with according to the law.
He also condemned attacks on police officers, following reports that officers deployed to the area had been pelted with stones.
“Attack on a policeman is a criminal offence,” he said, urging students not to assume that their status as students placed them above the law.
The Eastern Regional Director of Education, Dr Mrs Ivy Owusu Asantewaa, also directed all students to leave the schools peacefully.
She reminded them that education was not only about academic excellence but also about developing good character and becoming responsible members of society.
“Do your academic work, be morally upright and make sure you fit into society,” she advised.
She warned students against lingering around the campuses or engaging in further acts of indiscipline after vacating the schools.
The closure of Hark Mount Sinai SHS and Okuapeman SHS a day before the vacation calendar is expected to allow security agencies and education authorities to restore calm and conduct investigations into the violent clashes.
REGSEC has indicated that individuals identified as having played key roles in the disturbances, including those responsible for the destruction and burning of properties and attacks on security personnel, could face legal action .
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
