Azantilow SHST closed down following student riots

 A two –day scuffle that broke out amongst students of the Azantilow Senior High School/Technical (SHST) in the Builsa North Dis­trict of the Upper East Region last week has led to a closure of the school.

The Upper East Regional Director of Education, Mr Bright Lewoe, asked all students to vacate the school premises after the Ghana Police Service was unable to calm down tension between rioting students, who engaged in a  fight from Wednesday to Thursday dawn last week.

A source within the school, told the Ghanaian Times that the fight started when a disgruntled second year student threatened to report some students to the school authorities over alleged illegal connected power to a socket in a dormitory to charge phones.

The source disclosed that the disgruntled student issued the threat after he was denied access to the socket illegally ‘connected’ in the dormitory to charge his phone.

According to the source, the students started the rumpus on Wednesday evening, and it almost

 disrupted a manifesto reading from students seeking the mandate to lead students following the lifting of a ban on filing of nominations for prefect slots.

Police stormed the campus to restore calm, but the impasse that started Wednesday resurrected on Thursday, during which scores of students suffered injuries.

All efforts to speak to the Headmaster of the school, Solo­mon Akogti, on riots, proved futile.

Meanwhile, when contacted, the Regional Director of Educa­tion confirmed the incident, but declined to give details on it.

He claimed he had given a report on the situation to the Regional Security Council (REGSEC), and a meeting would be convened to determine the faith of the rioting students today (October 14, 2024).

The Paramount Chief of the Sandema Traditional Area, Nab Azagsuk Azantilow II, described the development at the school as ‘very worrying’.

“I will like to meet with the students when they come back to school. They must understand that violence denigrates the image of the school and will make it unat­tractive to prospective students”, he noted.

 Personnel from the Criminal Investigative Department (CID) of the Sandema District Police Command are investigating the issue to ascertain what exactly triggered the disturbances.

This is not the first time that the Azantilow SHS/Technical, formerly called Sandema SHS/Technical, has witnessed distur­bances.

In 2016, an insecurity rocked the school as students linked to a cabal that was obsessed with pursuing tribal politics on campus caused conflict, which disrupted the selection sof the Senior Prefect.

 FROM FRANCIS DABRE DABANG, SANDEMA

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