Ashesi University’s Safeguarding Lead, Dr Millicent Adjei, says asking students to collect food for school authorities crosses a boundary that should protect children from the outset.
Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express on Tuesday, she identified food errands and an environment that discouraged reporting as key safeguarding failures in the Obuasi Senior High Technical School case.
Dr Adjei, also Director of International Programs and Campus Cohesion at Ashesi, said the concern began when staff assigned children personal errands.
“From what is shared, right from even asking a child entrusted to you to take care of your elderly needs, go to the cafeteria, carry your food for you. That boundary should not be crossed, right?”
She said allowing students to take food to the headmaster’s residence represented the first breakdown in protection. Her objection extended to students delivering food elsewhere.
“Whether he carried the children to the classroom or wherever, that is a no-no.”
Her comments follow Manasseh Azure Awuni’s JoyNews investigation, Inside the Dreaded Headmaster’s Bungalow. It examines allegations of sexual abuse involving Obuasi SHTS headmaster Zakaria Abdulai.
The investigation also documented complaints made to authorities months before his suspension.
The Ghana Education Service has interdicted the headmaster pending investigations. A complaint has also been lodged with the police.
Dr Adjei said a second failure concerned whether students felt safe enough to report their experiences.
“The second level is the environment, the environment that didn’t make it conducive because one of the victims did not feel confident enough or comfortable enough to report, so that enabling environment that allows and empowers them to report was broken.”
Referring to the account discussed on the programme, she said a girl’s house prefect had to report the matter. She also cited an account of the girl being hospitalised after being caned, without action being taken.
For Dr Adjei, adults entrusted with children must create conditions that encourage them to speak up.
“So the second layer, where an environment that doesn’t support speaking up when some of these things happen, was also broken, because when you are given that duty of care, you are supposed to be the protector.”
“You are supposed to create that environment where children will be able to come to you, right?”