The Acting Eastern Regional Director of the Department of Children under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Emmanuel Kwabena Dartey says teachers implicated in sexual abuse cases in schools must be prosecuted to serve as a deterrent.
That, he said will help curb the menace which is pervasive in the country’s education sector.
Kwabena Dartey’s comments followed the sacking of some 10 teachers by the Ghana Education Service for breaching the code of conduct of the service.
“It should not end there, the dismissal cannot solve the problem because there is a law protecting the children so when somebody, a teacher, a lecturer or anybody defiles a girl or rapes a child the Education Service serves their own punitive measures but it should end up at the law Court,” said Kwabena Dartey.
“We are all being protected by the law so if you go against the law, it has no excuse for you they [teachers] should be sent to Court.”
A study conducted 10 years earlier by Plan International Ghana in Awutu-Senya, Efutu and Upper Manya Krobo Districts of the country showed about 14 per cent of school children (aged 14 to 15) experienced various forms of sexual abuse.
The main perpetrators of the abuses, according to the study revealed at a stakeholders meeting held in Koforidua the Non-Governmental Organisation as part of it “Girls Get Equal” project aimed at removing barriers inhibiting girl child education were teachers, forming 21 per cent and only 30 per cent of the victims gathered courage to tell someone about it.
Various speakers at the meeting expressed worry about the growing incidence of sexual abuse of girls in Ghanaian schools and called on authorities to take action to nip the menace in the bud
Barbara Vida Ntow in charge of Basic Education in the Eastern Region said GES does not shield teachers accused of sexual abuse contrary to public perception adding that it always want to give the accused persons fair hearing hence the process may drag from District level to Regional then finally to the Headquarters before a final decision is taken.
But the Executive Director of International Child Development Program, Joyce Lanyo said GES must develop mechanisms to conduct routine undercover investigations on amorous relationship between teachers and students for perpetrators to be fished out and dealt with in a swift manner.
She also urged students to speak out whenever they are sexually abused or harassed.
On his part, the Eastern Regional Director of Plan International Ghana, Kofi Adade Debrah appealed to Government to resource the department of social welfare to provide child supporting systems to help support victims of various forms of abuses.
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM/Kojo Ansah
