Former Information Minister Fatimatu Abubakar has accused school authorities and education officials of failing students who reported sexual abuse at Obuasi Senior High Technical School, saying the girls followed the reporting procedures but were let down by the adults responsible for their protection.
Fatimatu said the students had reported their concerns through the school’s internal channels but were left without the support and intervention needed to secure justice.
“The children did the reporting. Everybody in the chain failed them,” the New Patriotic Party (NPP) member said during a discussion on TV3’s Keypoints.
She explained that schools had established procedures for reporting misconduct, including approaching a housemistress, an assistant headmaster or the person responsible for guidance and counselling.
According to her, the students fulfilled their responsibility despite the intimidation, threats and fear they faced.
“The students diligently delivered their part in the face of intimidation, in the face of threats and in the face of fear,” she said.
Fatimatu stressed that students were in a vulnerable position because teachers and headmasters wielded authority over them, creating a power imbalance that could make it difficult for them to speak out.
“The authorities in the school, they act in loco parentis. They are the standing parents of the students in these institutions. They have a fiduciary obligation,” she said.
She also questioned whether the Ghana Education Service’s internal disciplinary procedures were enough to address allegations involving possible criminal offences.
Abubakar noted that the GES could investigate staff misconduct but did not have the police’s investigative powers, particularly when evidence required forensic examination.
“If the GES decides at the district level to set up a committee, they do not have the wherewithal to take someone’s underwear with semen to do forensic examination. It is a set of evidence that must go to the police who would have the capacity to do such investigations,” she said.
She further highlighted the financial barriers families could face when seeking justice, recounting how a woman involved in another incident nearly abandoned her case because she could not afford Ghc300 for a medical report.
Abubakar said such costs could discourage vulnerable parents and students from pursuing complaints against powerful individuals.
She urged victims and other students who had experienced similar incidents to speak out, assuring them of support.
“This morning I came here just to use my voice to ensure the student that I believe them and other victims wherever they find themselves should speak up. We will support them,” she said.
