It has emerged that the Ghana Education Service (GES) has recommended that the headmaster of Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS), Abdulai Zakaria, and other staff implicated in a violent campus disturbance be reposted to different institutions or duty stations.
The recommendation follows a committee’s investigation into the August 5, 2026, riot during which some students attacked the headmaster and vandalised property at his bungalow.
Deputy Director-General of GES in charge of Quality and Access, Dr Issahaque Munawaru, disclosed the recommendation in an interview on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Thursday, October 15, 2026.
But this information is only coming out following a documentary by JoyNews’ investigative correspondent, Manasseh Azure Awuni, that has revealed a series of sexual abuse allegations against the headmaster, resulting in his suspension by the Ministry of Education.
The Deputy GES Director-General said the committee’s report reached GES headquarters the previous week and that the Director-General had assigned officials to review its findings.
According to Dr Munawaru, the report contains about 27 or 28 recommendations, including measures intended to restore calm and strengthen security at the school.
Under recommendation 23, the committee proposed that the headmaster and other staff be “reposted to other institutions or duty stations in the interest of the service”.
The recommendation cited the circumstances surrounding the disturbance and concerns about security at the school.
What happened during the August 5 riot?
The disturbance began after some students allegedly accused the headmaster of engaging in a ritual activity on campus.
Information gathered at the time indicated that a student claimed to have seen the headmaster’s vehicle near the school’s refuse dump and raised an alarm. Students subsequently alleged that they had discovered a freshly buried foetus at the location before confronting and assaulting the headmaster.
Mr Zakaria sustained multiple injuries and was admitted to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi for treatment.
Six students suspected of playing various roles in the rampage were arrested by police.
During the disturbance, some students also entered the headmaster’s bungalow and destroyed property, including a Toyota RAV4 with registration number AC 127-23.
Police intervention was required to restore order and prevent the violence from escalating further.
Committee recommends disciplinary action and stronger safeguards
Dr Munawaru said GES officials visited the school after the incident and met the Municipal Chief Executive and the police command, who informed them that investigations were ongoing.
He explained that the Service referred the professional aspects of the matter to a committee, while the police handled the criminal investigation. The committee’s first recommendation called for teachers, non-teaching staff and students whose conduct raised reasonable suspicion or concern during the investigation to be referred to the appropriate disciplinary authorities.
It also recommended dissolving informal student groupings and associations.
Under recommendation 24, the committee proposed strengthening channels for reporting sexual harassment, including training designated staff to handle complaints confidentially and promptly in line with GES safeguarding policies.
Sexual abuse allegations remain under investigation
Meanwhile, the GES has suspended Mr Zakaria following allegations that he sexually abused some female students at the school. The suspension followed a directive from the Ministry of Education pending a full investigation following JoyNews’ investigations.
Dr Munawaru said he had not seen explicit findings of culpability in the portions of the committee’s report he had read, but cautioned that this did not necessarily mean the full report contained no such findings.
He said GES headquarters had the authority to vary a regional committee’s findings where there were grounds to do so. He also warned that staff found culpable of sexual misconduct would face dismissal.
“Once we establish culpability, it’s dismissal,” he said.
He explained that dismissal and termination had different implications for an officer’s exit from the service, with dismissal bringing an outright end to the person’s service.
Dr Munawaru further disclosed that the GES Council had approved about 15 dismissals in October 2026 in sexual harassment cases dating back to 2021.