SACK THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF GES NOW FOR HIS COMPLICITY IN THE OBUASI SHTS CASE! YAW OPOKU MENSAH DEMANDS.
The Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) cannot be allowed to sacrifice innocent subordinates to save his own skin from the public backlash over his questionable handling of the Obuasi SHTS case.
The facts, as presented, raise serious questions about his conduct and the apparent double standards in the disciplinary process.
The Director General received the report on the school on 16th September but failed to act until 14th October, when the Minister directed the interdiction of the Headmaster. Why did he wait for a ministerial directive before taking action? What was he doing with the report for nearly a month? And why are regional and district directors now being sacrificed when the Director General himself had the report long before the ministerial intervention?
His failure to act promptly cannot be swept under the carpet while others are made scapegoats for his inaction.
The Director General’s delay raises legitimate concerns about whether the Headmaster was being protected for partisan political reasons. If he had the report since 16th September, the public deserves a convincing explanation for why decisive action was not taken until 14th October.
We cannot allow the Director General to hide behind the interdiction of subordinates to escape accountability. If his failure to act contributed to the mishandling of this case, then he must answer for it. Accountability must start from the top, not end with the people below.
For the avoidance of doubt, Obuasi SHTS falls outside the jurisdiction of Mr Nketia, the Obuasi East District Director. The school is located in Obuasi West.
So, in what official capacity is the Obuasi East District Director being implicated in the handling of a case involving a school outside his jurisdiction? Why should he be punished for a matter that falls under another district’s administrative authority?
Is it now a crime to accept leading a committee with express authorization of the Director General and be subjected to humiliation and institutional punishment as a worker of the Ghana Education Service? This is a bad precedent and must not be allowed to stand. Interdict all committee members too.
More importantly, if the Obuasi West District Director has acknowledged receiving numerous petitions concerning the alleged rape cases without acting on them, why is the disciplinary spotlight now being turned towards the Ashanti Regional Director and the Obuasi East District Director?
The Director General reportedly took decisive action only on 14th October, following a ministerial directive. Yet he is now presiding over a process that has resulted in the interdiction of the Ashanti Regional Director and the Obuasi East District Director over alleged involvement in the matter.
The interdictions appear questionable and politically tainted, particularly if the objective is to divert attention from the Director General’s own failure to act when the report first reached his office. If the affected officers acted at the committee level on his instructions or authority, the public deserves to know why they are now being sacrificed while the man at the top escapes scrutiny.
The Ghana Education Service cannot be run on selective accountability, political convenience and the sacrifice of subordinates to protect powerful officeholders.
The Director General must be held accountable for his own actions and inactions. He cannot preside over a delayed response, turn around to punish others, and expect Ghanaians to remain silent.
If the Director General cannot provide a credible explanation for his handling of the Obuasi SHTS case, then his continued stay in office becomes a serious question of public accountability.
Ghana’s education system deserves leadership that protects children, respects institutional boundaries, and accepts responsibility and not leadership that allows critical reports to gather dust before searching for subordinates to blame.
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