ZAMSTECH Closed Down

03-02-16 

                

Headteacher, Zamse Senior Secondary and Technical School, Francis Banbogo

Students of Zamse Senior Secondary and Technical School, popularly known in the educational circus as ZAMSTECH, were yesterday sent packing after resorting to violent disturbances over refusal of the school authority to heed to their request to study at night. 

The school was temporarily closed down following a collective decision by the school authority in consultation with the leadership of the Regional Education Directorate. 

Narrating the incident to Radio Ghana's Isaac  Asare, the headmaster of the school, Francis Banbogo said a decision was taken by the school enjoining all students to retire to bed after normal prep hours so that they will be re-energized for the next day’s lessons.

 According to him, final year students of the school opposed the said decision insisting that it was their right to study overnight after preps.   

Based on this, the school authority advised the students to petition the headmaster indicating why they should be allowed to study overnight for consideration. 

Mr Banbogo said after given them the option and proceeded to his quarters, the students suddenly went on rampage destroying school properties running into thousands of cedis. 

They caused a total blackout in the school and further besieged the staff common room destroying anything they lay their hands on. 

He said the irate students also hurled stones at some teachers and broke into the school’s computer lab to ransack the computer devices including mini laptops. 

Moreover, the windscreen of the school mini bus was not spared in the course of the rampage. 

He stated that the magnitude of the destruction caused to the school’s property forced the Regional Director of Education, Madam Janet Kawia, who was there to assess the extent of damage to close down the school indefinitely.  

The headmaster also mentioned the formation of a committee to look into the matter and come out with a final report.

 Meanwhile, twenty-seven students comprising twenty-five boys and two girls who were allegedly involved in the riot are in the custody of the police pending investigation. 

As an interim measure, some police personnel have been dispatched to the school to ensure adequate security and to avert further attack. Student unrest has become rampant in parts of the country and has become a common phenomenon in schools within Northern Ghana. 

When Ghana today contacted the outgoing Upper East Regional Minister, James Zuuga Tiiga to get his take on the subject matter, he expressed regret over the phenomenon and called for concerted effort by key stakeholders in the educational sector to provide valid solutions to the situation. 

On the issue at hand, he told me on phone that he will be engaging both REGSEC  and the leadership of the regional education directorate to deliberate on the way forward. He said in no time, a vibrant regional committee will be put in place to establish findings that often result in student riot with focus on final year students.

GBC