Ntim Fordjour (4th left) and entourage visit victims
A Deputy Minister of Education, Ntim Fordjour, says calm has been restored and students are safe at the Islamic Senior High School after the Police fired pepper spray and warning shots to disperse and prevent aggrieved students from protesting.
He added that the Ministry had been duly briefed on the unfortunate incident that occurred on the campus of the School in Kumasi on Monday.
According to him, his outfit regrets the unfortunate incident, which resulted in 38 students seeking medical attention, and the temporary disruption of academic work.
On behalf of the sector Minister, Mr Ntim Fordjour, accompanied by the Ashanti Regional Director of Education, Mayor of Kumasi and CHASS President, visited the affected students at the various health facilities as well as addressed the entire student population on campus.
The Deputy Minister assured the public that all the affected students were responding to medical treatment, and were in good condition. He added that out of the 38 students hospitalised, 22 had been discharged, and had joined their colleagues on campus.
“We would like to assure parents and guardians of the safety and security of their wards, as full academic work started yesterday,” he said.
Cops interdicted
Meanwhile, the Ghana Police Service has suspended its acting Deputy Ashanti Regional Commander, DCOP Kwasi Akomeah Apraku, following the incident.
A statement issued by the Service said DCOP Apraku had been interdicted together with two other senior officers, ACP George Ankomah, the Regional Operations Officer, and ACP Alex Cudjoe Acquah, the Suame Divisional Police Commander, to make way for a thorough investigation into the incident.
“It was further established that even though nobody was hit by a bullet, the Police handling of the incident was poor and fell short of our standard operating procedure on crowd control,” the statement read.
Police further added that the Police Professional Standards Bureau (PPSB) had commenced a full-scale investigation into the conduct of the officers who were responsible for the Police response.
Background
Some students of the Islamic Senior High School, Abrepo, Kumasi, took to the streets on Monday, and blocked sections of the road to demonstrate against frequent motor traffic accidents in front of their school.
In a bid to help open the road to normal traffic flow, police responded by firing warning shots and opening tear gas and pepper spray on the students.
“The students pelted the Police with stones and the Police used pepper spray and fired warning shots in an attempt to disperse them,” police said in a statement.
Some students were injured following the disturbances and were rushed to the hospital for treatment.
According to the Police Service, although nobody died during the disturbances, the way its officers handled the situation was poor and fell short of our standard operating procedure on crowd control.
Police clinical psychologists were subsequently deployed to visit the school to offer psychosocial support to the student body.
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