Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu has called on the Attorney General and the Minister for the Interior to expedite action on investigations into alleged sexual misconduct at Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS), insisting that individuals found responsible must face the full consequences of the law.
Mr Iddrisu said evidence assembled by investigators so far suggested that a prima facie case had been established, warranting further action by the relevant criminal justice authorities.
Speaking at the 150th anniversary celebration of Mfantsipim School in Cape Coast on Saturday, November 14, the minister described the Obuasi incident as a serious stain on the government’s record and assured the public that no individual implicated in the allegations would receive protection from prosecution.
“Matters relating to Obuasi SHTS remain a scar for government. Let me assure you that nobody will be shielded. Once the evidence is available, government will take appropriate steps to prosecute and make sure that we exact punishment on persons who are culpable,” he stated.
He explained that although the available evidence pointed towards a possible prima facie case, neither the Ministry of Education nor the Ghana Education Service (GES) possessed the judicial authority to determine criminal responsibility.
Consequently, he said the matter had been referred to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, the Attorney General and the Interior Minister for the necessary investigations and subsequent legal action.
“The evidence before us points to what the courts may describe as a prima facie case, but since the Ministry of Education and GES are not competent courts, I will accordingly refer, and have referred, the matter to the Police CID, the Attorney-General and the Minister for the Interior to take consequential actions that bring any teacher to the discipline of the law,” he added.
The controversy surrounding Obuasi SHTS has attracted considerable national attention following allegations of sexual abuse involving female students and the school’s former headmaster, Zakaria Abdulai, who was interdicted pending investigations.
The minister’s latest remarks follow an earlier disclosure to Parliament on November 10 that investigations by a committee established by the Ministry of Education were approximately 85 per cent complete. The Police CID is separately examining the criminal allegations, while the administrative inquiry is addressing institutional and disciplinary concerns arising from the incident.
Mr Iddrisu also appealed for stronger cooperation among traditional authorities, religious organisations, parents, teachers and students to confront what he described as increasing indiscipline within educational institutions.
He emphasised that maintaining discipline and protecting students required a collective commitment, with schools expected to provide secure environments in which young people could pursue their education without fear of abuse or exploitation.
Government outlines GH¢250 million school infrastructure allocation
Beyond the Obuasi SHTS investigation, Mr Iddrisu announced a series of investments intended to expand secondary education infrastructure and improve the quality of facilities available to students across the country.
He disclosed that the government was committing US$300 million towards secondary education infrastructure, alongside plans to construct 10 new model senior high schools, with one facility earmarked for each of 10 regions.
The programme will also involve upgrading 30 Category B senior high schools to Category A standards, a move intended to narrow the infrastructure and facilities gap between the different classifications of public secondary schools.
The minister explained that the proposed expansion formed part of the government’s broader education reforms following the completion of its review of the Free Senior High School programme, introduced in 2017.
He said the policy reassessment had informed a decision to redirect greater attention towards foundational education, particularly literacy, numeracy, agricultural science and mathematics, while improving infrastructure and learning conditions at the secondary level.
Mr Iddrisu further announced that the 12 highest performing senior high schools in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) would benefit from a GH¢250 million allocation through the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund).
The funding, expected to feature in the 2027 GETFund allocation formula, will support infrastructure development in selected Category A institutions, including the construction and expansion of dormitories, assembly halls, classrooms, libraries and information and communications technology centres.
The minister’s announcement also identified Mfantsipim School as one of the institutions expected to benefit from the proposed infrastructure support, with its assembly hall among the projects mentioned during the anniversary celebration.
The combined announcements underscore the government’s stated intention to pursue improvements in school infrastructure, expand access to better equipped secondary institutions and strengthen accountability within the education system.
