The academic future of many second-year and final-year students of Obuasi Senior High and Technical School (SHTS) remains uncertain, as the school has been closed to continuing students for nearly three months.
The school was shut down on August 5 following an order by the municipal assembly after a riot in which students reportedly attacked the headmaster, Zakaria Abdulai, over allegations of sexual abuse involving female students.
Despite the commencement of the new academic year for senior high schools, academic activities at Obuasi SHTS have yet to resume for continuing students.
JoyNews checks in the mining town revealed that some second-year and final-year students were helping with domestic chores, while others were engaged in trading activities, with no clear indication of when they would return to the classroom.
Anthony Coffie, president of a group known as Concerned Citizens of Adansi, has expressed concern over the situation and called for the students to be allowed to return to school.
“The situation is particularly alarming for Form Three students, who should be preparing intensively for their West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). The loss of valuable instructional time threatens their examination preparation and academic prospects,” he said.
Mr Coffie said students should not be made to suffer the consequences of what he described as an administrative crisis, stressing the need to protect their right to education.
“Our children must not become collateral victims of an administrative crisis. Their right to education and their prospects for academic success must not be sacrificed while the relevant authorities deliberate over the issues surrounding the school,” he said.
He is appealing to the Adansihene to engage the government, the Minister for Education and the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) to put immediate and effective measures in place to reopen the school.
He also called for appropriate safety arrangements to protect students when academic activities resume.