Education Minister, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has said his Ministry will take on any regional director of Education who fails to protect female students who are victims of sexual abuse by teachers in Senior High Schools across the country.
The Minister indicated that boarding schools cannot be used as brothels by male teachers who usually engage in sexual relationships with their female students.
His comments come after nine teachers of the Ejisuman Senior High School in the Ashanti Region have been interdicted following allegations of sexual assault on some female students of the school.
The Minister who was speaking at a meeting in Kumasi with Directors of Education and Heads of selected Senior High Schools (SHSs) expressed worry over the failure of some heads of schools and Directors of Education in taking steps to protect female students who are victims of sexual abuse.
He indicated that heads of schools should act in place of parents and must ensure the girl child is not a subject of sexual abuse.
“Though they are allegations, they are not allegations that should let us sleep. I am going to hold any Director of Directorate of Education responsible. If such an incident happen in your region and you don’t take steps to protect the kids, it is not about sacking the teacher, it is not about anything, it is about taking steps to protect the underage children. Please take note, if it happens in your school, take the appropriate steps. If you don’t, you have yourself to blame”, he warned.
Dr Opoku Prempeh further said heads of schools must find a lasting solution to the practice where teachers engage in sexual relationships with female students emphasizing that “our schools and our boarding schools are not brothels.”
Source: Citifmonline.com
