The Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare, has called for an assessment of the conduct of public officials who may have failed to act on reports of alleged sexual abuse at Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS), saying accountability must extend beyond the headmaster facing criminal charges.
He said officials at the school, municipal level and other relevant institutions should be investigated to establish what they knew about the allegations, what action they took and whether they followed the procedures governing their responsibilities.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Monday, October 19, during a discussion on the sexual assault allegations at Obuasi SHTS, Mr Asare said the case required a wider examination of possible institutional failures.
He argued that punishing the individual accused would not be enough if other officials had failed to carry out their duties despite being aware of the allegations.
“We all know that a lot of officials were involved, either directly or indirectly, by actions or their inactions in this issue,” he said.
Mr Asare called for an assessment of the conduct of officials at different levels, including those within the school, the municipal administration and other institutions that may have received reports of the alleged abuse.
He said the review should establish what each official knew, what steps were taken in response, and whether those actions complied with the relevant standard operating procedures (SOPs).
“It is important that we do an assessment of the actions and omissions at school level, municipal level and all relevant officials who became aware of these allegations, and then the actions they took, and reconcile the actions they took in line with the GES SOPs or the institutions that they were in,” he said.
The Africa Education Watch executive director said the review should not be limited to establishing whether officials knew about the allegations. It should also determine whether they fulfilled their responsibilities under the rules governing their offices.
He said the procedures applicable to officials in different institutions, including municipal chief executives and police officers, should be examined to establish whether they acted appropriately when confronted with safeguarding concerns.
“If the person was an MCE, what are the SOPs when it comes to safeguarding? If the person was a police commander or a police officer, what are the SOPs when it comes to safeguarding?” he asked.
Mr Asare said officials found to have failed to act in accordance with their responsibilities should face administrative sanctions.
He argued that public officials had a duty to protect people under their care and respond appropriately to allegations of abuse, particularly where children were involved.
The proposed assessment, he said, would help establish responsibility for any failures and ensure that the appropriate consequences followed.
“This is how we exact institutional accountability beyond the headmaster who is now facing criminal charges,” he said.
Mr Asare also called on JoyNews to follow up on a police statement concerning a foetus reportedly exhumed during investigations linked to disturbances at the school.
He said the district police commander had indicated in an interview that officers had found and exhumed the foetus and would investigate the matter further.
However, he said there had been no subsequent public update explaining where it came from or what investigators had established.
“I would like JoyNews to follow up on the day the police went to the school, on the day of the rioting. I heard the district commander’s interview. He said that they had found the foetus. They had exhumed it, and then they were going to investigate and come back to us,” he said.
“We haven’t heard anything about the foetus. Where did the foetus come from? We have not heard about anything in relation to the foetus so far,” he added.
According to him, establishing the facts could provide information relevant to the wider case, which is heading to court.
“So it would be important for us to get an update on the source of the foetus. Perhaps it will be useful for investigating the case which is heading to court,” he added.