Deputy Education Minister Dr Clement Apaak says the Education Ministry is working with MTN Ghana to establish a dedicated hotline through which students and parents can report abuse directly to the ministry.
He said the proposed channel would help address delays in escalating complaints through existing structures within the Ghana Education Service (GES), following the alleged sexual abuse case involving the headmaster of Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS).
Dr Apaak said the ministry wanted to establish why concerns were not escalated to GES headquarters or the ministry earlier.
“The bigger question that we ask at the ministry is who knew what when and why wasn’t this escalated to the level of the Ghana Education Service headquarters or even the ministry,” he said to Joy News.
He explained that the ministry had identified weaknesses in the existing reporting structure and believed a direct channel could help prevent similar cases.
“By creating a bypass, we believe that that in itself will serve as a deterrent,” he added.
Dr Apaak said discussions were underway with MTN Ghana to establish a hotline that would be regularly manned, allowing the ministry to receive reports of abuse promptly and take action.
“We are working with MTN to assist us in establishing a hotline directly to the ministry, which will be manned regularly so that we can receive information about these abuses in time to enable us to act and protect our vulnerable girls, whom we have a responsibility to protect,” he stated.
