Joesph Osei-Owusu, the First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, has expressed reservations about prosecuting the perpetrator of the Adisadel College attack.
The Deputy Speaker, addressing Fettehman Senior High School’s 10-year anniversary celebration, believes that the problem may have been handled by the school’s administration rather than the offender being tried in a general court.
“We should look at how we bring up children in this country since it is becoming a challenge. This kind of upbringing is important. There is no need for him to be that violent towards another student. If we discuss this in isolation, we would miss it. What happened in the school is a reflection of what is happening in the country. We think we are not supposed to punish students and this is how we pay for it as a country.
“There is nothing wrong with students being at each other, but when it gets beyond regular bullying, it is bad. I regret that it has been taken to the court since this matter could have been addressed in the school, but the Attorney General thinks otherwise,” Joseph Osei-Owusu said.
Despite criticising the student’s heinous behaviour, Hon. Osei Owusu says the offender should have been counselled so that he might concentrate on his education for the sake of his future.
In the footage, a 17-year-old final-year student is shown squeezing his colleague’s neck and then pounding his head on a metal bed, injuring the victim.
Mr Osei Owusu has also voiced concern over deteriorating discipline standards, questioned the moral upbringing of Ghanaian youngsters, and urged for more intentional attempts to establish discipline in children.
“Whatever has happened should be left in the past and look forward to reforming the students involved in the video. We are copying blindly, and we must go back to our roots as Ghanaians,” the First Deputy Speaker noted.
Meanwhile, on the topic of Fettehman Senior High School’s lack of suitable facilities, the First Deputy Speaker advised the Member of Parliament to voice concerns on the floor of Parliament for further action, while encouraging pupils to preserve strong moral values and integrity.
The school has an infrastructure deficit since the facilities on campus are insufficient for the approximately 1500 pupils. Students had no choice but to eat under the trees.
Aside from these issues, the school has started a project to build a cottage for the headmistress of the school, but it needs help from the government and well-meaning Ghanaians to finish it.
The school’s board chairman, Joseph Annan, stated that the institution requires assistance to accommodate over a thousand pupils.
“We have a lot of infrastructure deficit as a school, ranging from the lack of accommodation on campus for teachers to the lack of a dining hall among others. This has made it difficult for the school to function” the Board chairman of the school, Joseph Annan said.
“With a little effort we have begun constructing the bungalow for the headmistress, but we will need support from corporate Ghana and the government to finish this project” the board chairman noted.
The Regional Director of Education for the Central Region agrees that infrastructural issues on campuses of most senior high schools are substantial, but the directorate is working hard to overcome these challenges.
“The challenges of infrastructure on the campuses of some schools in the region cannot be left out, but we are working hard to ensure that support comes from government and well-meaning Ghanaians” Regional Director of Education Emmanuel Essuman said.
