Authorities in our senior high schools need to be far more proactive, especially when it comes to safeguarding students. When these issues are neglected, they do not just affect teenagers in the moment—they can leave deep, lasting trauma that follows them into adulthood.
My concern stems from the recent sexual abuse case at Bolgatanga Girls Senior High School (BOGISS) in the Upper East Region. I cannot put into words how disappointed I am with the way the school’s administration handled the situation. What is even more concerning is that it took Mr. Kofi Asare, Executive Chairman of Eduwatch Ghana, acting on a tip-off, to call out the school authorities and bring the matter into the public domain.
The situation is made even more troubling by the fact that the victim is a student with special needs. Yet, the school still failed to manage the case properly. This rightly prompted Mr. Asare, along with Madam Mary Kufuor of Klicks Africa and former Upper East Regional Minister Madam Tangoba Abayage, to add their voices and demand that the school do what is necessary—starting with ensuring that the perpetrators face the full force of the law.
While there is some relief in the fact that the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service have both released reassuring statements outlining their positions and planned actions, this incident still exposes glaring loopholes in how we handle children’s rights and safeguarding as a country.
It is high time that the authorities in charge of this sector sat down for a proper and honest conversation about safeguarding across our society, especially within our educational institutions. We need a clear and actionable policy so that whenever such cases arise, there is a standard framework for determining the appropriate sanctions and consequences. That way, justice is not only served, but the response also acts as a strong deterrent to anyone harboring such harmful intentions.
An educational institution should be a safe haven—a place for learning, growth, and transformation, not a place where learners are subjected to experiences that may traumatize them for life.
By Stella Annan
