GES Probes Tsito SHS Assault Case

By Alberto Mario Noretti, Ho

The Ghana Education Service (GES) is to probe into the case in which the Senior House Father of Awudome Senior High School at Tsito in the Ho West District, Mr Joseph Mawuenah, allegedly clubbed a student of the school in the spinal cord.

Mr John Teku, Volta Regional Director of the GES, disclosed this to the Ghanaian Times in an exclusive interview in Ho yesterday.

He said that although the school authorities had rightly set up a committee to look into the incident, the matter goes beyond a disciplinary hearing confined to the campus.

"You and I know that corporal punishment is not an acceptable measure of correcting a student, so we have taken up this matter as a very serious one," said Mr Teku.

Pursuant to that, the regional director of education said that "we have invited the headmaster of the school, Mr Emmanuel Amu to come over to Ho to brief us on what happened on the campus that night before we take the matter up further".

The 17-year-old student, Eric Ayittah who was said to have been brutalised by the house father, took to his heels to avoid further brutality that night, but a security man on the campus ran towards him and swept him off his feet with a malicious kick which sent him crushing onto the ground.

The incident took place on February 19, this year.

The final year science student who suffered deep cuts from the sharp stones on the ground was rushed initially to the school infirmary and taken the next day to the Catholic Hospital at Sokode-Gbogame in the Ho municipality where he was treated and discharged.

He, however, went to the hospital for daily dressing of the wounds after his discharge.

In rare display of courage, Eric who was assaulted by the teacher and the security man in a clear case of mistaken identity is now struggling to attend classes while battling excruciating pain, fear and trauma, though unable to walk properly.

According to the headmaster, some unruly students were throwing stones indiscrimately on the campus that evening.

He told the Ghanaian Times that Eric who was returning from nature's call at about 9.30pm was mistaken by the Senior House Father for one of them.

Some staff members who described Eric as one of the most obedient students of the school are calling for the removal of the senior house father.

Since the Ghanaian Times carried a story on the incident more than a week ago, at least two old students of AWUSCO have narrated to the paper how the senior house father subjected them to similar torture sessions while they were in the school.

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