The Deputy Minister in charge of General Education, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, has directed management of Adisadel College to submit the report of the investigation team set up to look into the bullying case in the school to the ministry today.
The directive is a revised timeline for the investigation team which was initially expected to go into the issue and submit a report in two weeks.
The deputy minister further tasked the school authority to immediately start a psycho-support system for all final-year students of the school as they prepare to sit the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
Outcomes
Briefing the Daily Graphic about the outcome of a meeting between the school authority and parents of the students, the Head of Public Relations of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Cassandra Twum Ampofo, said those were part of the outcomes of separate meetings with the management of Adisadel College, parents of the victim and the culprit.
She added that as part of the outcome of the meeting, the ministry agreed to facilitate further medical examination on the victim to ensure that he did not develop any major health complication as a result of the incident.
Consequently, Ms Ampofo added that the victim was taken to the Greater Accra Regional Hospital after the meeting at the ministry in the company of Rev. Fordjour for the medical examination.
The meeting was to enable the ministry and its agency, the GES, to gain further insight into the incident which took place on Tuesday, June 30, this year and whose video went viral on social media last Monday.
Condemnation
After the viral video, the GES issued a statement last Monday expressing deep concerns and condemned what it described as “barbaric act of violence in our schools.”
“We applaud the school authorities for taking swift action to suspend the culprit pending further investigation,” the statement said.
It then directed the Regional Director of Education to liaise with the school authorities and the relevant law enforcement agencies to investigate the issue for appropriate action.
The statement assured the general public that the management of GES was taking the matter seriously and was committed to ensuring a safe and secure learning environment for all students across the country.
Viral video
The incident attracted anger, fury and outcry from the public, who called for immediate action to be taken.
The incident, which happened at a dormitory at the Quaque House, left one of the students, Kelvin Ofori, who was attacked by a taller student, with a swollen cheek.
The taller and older student, identified only as Bobby, was seen in the viral video holding the neck of his victim from behind as though to strangulate him in the presence of other students who shouted cautionary remarks.
As the victim gasped for breath and tried to free himself from his attacker, the taller student pushed him towards a bunk bed and violently hit his face against the bed.
At that moment, Bobby was seen pushing Ofori away from him.
The victim examined his face and felt blood on a badly swollen cheek.
Suspension
The school has suspended Ofori and the bully, and the two third-year students are to write the WASSCE papers from home.
A statement from the school said the student who recorded the video and circulated it would also be suspended externally for one week, return and do internal work on suspension for another week, and bring the phone to the school, else he would also be sanctioned.
Also, others who were there but did nothing and also did not report would all go through some internal punishment.
The housemaster, Ekow Holman, has also been relieved of his post, pending the outcome of the investigation.
Source: graphic.com.gh
