A member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Akosua Manu, has questioned why authorities failed to act on a petition by the Obuasi Senior High Technical School old students’ association alleging sexual misconduct by headmaster Zakaria Abdulai.
Manu said the association had written to several institutions, including education authorities, the police and local government officials, but claimed no meaningful action followed.
Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile, she read from the petition, which raised concerns about alleged sexual harassment and assault involving the headmaster.
“We the old students association of Obuasi Senior High Technical School write with deep concern and urgency regarding sexual harassment and assault involving Mr. Zakaria Abdulai, the current headmaster of the school,” the petition stated.
According to the document, the headmaster had been at the school for almost a year and the alleged conduct had been reported at least twice during his tenure.
The petition was copied to several authorities, including municipal education directors, municipal chief executives, the Ashanti Regional Director of Education, the Ghana Education Service, the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Police Service and the school’s board of governors.
Manu said the association had called for prompt action to restore safety and confidence at the school, but alleged that its concerns were not addressed.
“The people who signed this letter are significant people, you know, old students, professors, PhDs, bishops, and nothing was done,” she said.
She also disclosed that a committee had been established in August to investigate a demonstration and security incident at the school, but its terms of reference did not include the sexual assault allegations.
“So the report is titled report on the students’ demonstration and security incident at Senior High Technical School,” she said, questioning why the allegations were excluded from the inquiry.
Manu argued that the omission meant the committee had not directly examined the core allegations that had prompted concern among students and former students.
She called for an investigation into why the petition and other reports did not lead to timely action by the relevant authorities.
