GES reporting structure has failed in handling sexual abuses - Dep. Education Minister

The Deputy Minister of Education, Dr. Clement Abas Apaak, has said there is a failure in the reporting structure of the Ghana Education Service (GES) as far as handling cases of sexual abuse in schools is concerned.

The failure was exposed by the sex scandal at the Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS), where a documentary uncovered alleged sexual misconduct involving staff and students.

Dr. Apaak made the remarks on TV3's Ghana Tonight on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, while responding to questions on the scandal and the actions taken so far by the sector Ministry.

According to the documentary, students had over a period made regular complaints about the misconduct to teachers and school authorities, but the complaints never reached the national level.

The development has led to the interdiction of the headmaster of the school, while the Ministry has invited the Police CID to investigate the criminal aspects of the case.

As part of administrative actions, the GES has also asked the Obuasi East Municipal Director of Education and the Ashanti Regional Director of Education to step aside for their roles in handling the matter.

He said the Ministry decided to dig deeper into who knew what and when.

"We thought it wise to move even further to start asking questions and some of the questions are the reason why again, the GES, has had to ask both the Obuasi East Municipal Director of Education and the Ashanti Regional Director of Education to step aside," he said.

According to him, the questions centered on why the matter was never escalated to the Ministry despite the complaints that came up, per the details in the documentary that brought the issue to bear.

"Who knew what when? Why was this never escalated to the national level and or brought to the attention of the Hon. Minister and myself?" he asked.

Dr. Apaak said after reviewing the matter, the Ministry concluded that the GES reporting chain had broken down.

"And we have come to the conclusion that there is a failure in the reporting structure of GES, as far as these sort of abuses are concerned," he said.

The development comes in the wake of allegations against the interdicted headmaster of Obuasi SHTS, Zakaria Abdulai, who is at the centre of an investigation by Manasseh Azure Awuni titled ‘Inside the Dreaded Headmaster’s Bungalow’.

The investigation reported allegations of sexual harassment, assault and rape involving female students. The number of students who have reportedly come forward has risen from 16 to 19.

According to the investigation, the school’s Girl Child Coordinator petitioned management in February 2026, while five students reportedly made complaints to the Obuasi West Municipal Education Directorate in March. Further alleged incidents were reported in June and July.

NAGRAT President Jacob Anaba has also revealed that 38 teachers who spoke against the headmaster were asked to leave the school, and that complaints dating back to 2025 were ignored.

The headmaster was interdicted on October 14, 2026, on the orders of Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu, who has referred the matter to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for criminal investigation.

The NDC, which had earlier cleared Abdulai, who is its Juaben Constituency Secretary, to contest the Juaben chairmanship despite the allegations, has made a U-turn. The party had said his constitutional rights must be respected while investigations continue, but has now demanded his resignation. He has since resigned from his position and withdrawn from the race.

Child Rights International says the Obuasi case is not isolated but symptomatic of a wider culture of cover-ups and delayed action within the GES, and is calling for a complete overhaul of safeguarding policies in schools.

Meanwhile, Interior Minister, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka disclosed on Tuesday, October 20, that Abdulai has been arrested and the investigation transferred to the Police Headquarters in Accra.

He said investigators are following due process, including procedures for DNA testing, as part of the probe.