A teacher at Ekumpoano Catholic Basic School, Stephen Desu, has raised concerns about alleged transactional sexual relationships between teachers and female students, saying some girls seek money from teachers in exchange for sex while others may be drawn into such arrangements because of financial hardship.
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Tuesday, October 20, during a discussion on allegations of sexual abuse involving female students at Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS), Mr Desu said the issue had different dimensions and required attention to the financial pressures facing students.
“There are girls in schools who position themselves to sexually exploit teachers for their money whilst teachers get sex from them in a transactional relationship,” he said.
He cited concerns about students’ access to food and money, saying some teachers had allegedly given female students money during periods when food provision in schools was a concern, with sex exchanged in return.
“Especially when this food issue came up in our schools, where they’re not getting food. Some teachers stepped up, and they were giving the girls money, and they were exchanging sex for the money they were giving them,” he said.
Mr Desu urged parents to consider how their daughters were meeting their needs when they were away at school, particularly when they received little financial support from home.
“If you leave your girl child in school and you don’t support her with money and she’s surviving, you as a parent, what makes you think that that child is surviving just because she’s just there?” he asked.
Calls for vigilance and accountability
The teacher said the profession had a responsibility to protect students while acknowledging that misconduct could occur among a large workforce.
“I mean, all professions can boast, but the teacher taught them all. So we position ourselves as the noble profession. Unfortunately, if you have more than 300,000 persons in your classroom as teachers, you may get such persons as predators,” he said.
His comments came amid heightened public scrutiny of alleged sexual abuse involving more than 14 female students at Obuasi SHTS. The school’s headmaster, Zakaria Abdulai, has been interdicted by the Ghana Education Service (GES) and arrested by the police as investigations continue.
The case has attracted widespread attention following reports by JoyNews investigative correspondent Manasseh Azure Awuni.
The case has prompted renewed debate about student protection, the handling of complaints of sexual misconduct and the responsibilities of school authorities.
While Mr Desu described some relationships as transactional, any sexual relationship between a teacher and a student raises serious concerns about the imbalance of power and the teacher’s duty of care. Financial vulnerability can also make students more susceptible to coercion or exploitation.