The Convener of the Network for Women’s Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT), Professor Akosua Darkwah, has called on the Ghana Education Service (GES) to establish an offenders’ register and publish annual reports detailing sexual abuse cases reported in schools and how they were handled.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, October 24, Prof. Darkwah said the sexual abuse allegations involving the headmaster of Obuasi Senior High Technical School should serve as a turning point for the GES to review its child protection policies and strengthen enforcement.
She expressed concern that Ghana has numerous laws intended to protect children, but their implementation remains a major challenge.
“I would like to end on the GES and to ask that they use this as a reflection point and go back to their policies and enforcement because Ghana, we don’t have trouble with passing laws,” she stated.
Prof. Darkwah referenced Ghana’s child protection legislation, arguing that the country’s willingness to adopt laws has not always translated into effective measures to safeguard children.
“We sign nicely, then we go to sleep. I would like to see this be the point from which we begin to see some real changes,” she said.
She particularly questioned the GES’s policy of transferring teachers, urging the Service to reconsider whether such arrangements adequately address cases involving allegations of sexual misconduct.
“Are we going to continue to transfer teachers? So they need to go back and think about their transfer policies, whether it makes sense,” she stressed.
The NETRIGHT Convener further demanded greater transparency in the handling of sexual abuse complaints, proposing that the GES publish annual statistics on reported cases and the actions taken.
“We would like to have a report annually. How many sexual abuse cases did the GES get, and how did they resolve them, so that when you are taking your daughter to school, you will know comfortably that she is protected,” she stated.
“We want an offenders’ register,” she added.
According to her, such accountability measures would help reassure parents that schools have effective systems to protect children from sexual abuse.
Her comments follow allegations of sexual abuse involving female students at Obuasi Senior High Technical School, brought to public attention through an investigative documentary by journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni.
Prof. Darkwah maintained that the controversy should prompt lasting institutional reforms rather than temporary responses, with particular emphasis on safeguarding students, reviewing teacher transfer policies and ensuring accountability in the handling of sexual abuse complaints.