The Ghana Education Service (GES) has shut down Darus-Salam school in Techiman, Brong Ahafo region, following an incident where the school’s proprietor allegedly assaulted some teachers. According to the school’s headmaster, Mr. Adams Abudi, Sheikh Kyei, the proprietor, reportedly slapped teacher Adjei Badu after he questioned the interruption of an ongoing exam.
In an interview with Myjoyonline.com, Mr. Abudi explained, “The teacher was taking the students through examination guidelines when he entered and demanded that they greeted him. The teacher questioned him and before he could say anything again, Sheikh slapped him.”
The school was founded by Sheikh Kyei, who handed over the Junior High section to the GES in 2012, according to Mr. Abudi. However, the headmaster claimed that the Sheikh continues to manage the primary section and has frequently interfered with the Junior High School’s operations.
“He has been coming over to film the students every now and then,” Mr. Abudi alleged.
The school’s management had already informed the Techiman North District Education about the issue. On the morning of December 9, 2015, as the school was preparing for end-of-term exams, Sheikh Kyei arrived to take photos, disrupting the activities. Mr. Abudi said, “Mr. Adjei Badu tried to tell him that examinations were ongoing and that attracted two slaps.”
He further stated that “Sheikh Kyei went to call about four teachers from the primary school to help him beat up the teacher who had retaliated the slap [given him]. That was when the situation turned bloody.”
Mr. Abudi reported the incident to the police, and when authorities arrived, several students and three teachers who tried to defend Mr. Badu had been injured and taken to the Holy Family Hospital in Techiman. All seven were treated and discharged.
However, Dora Kyeiwaa, the daughter of Sheikh Kyei, denied the allegations against her father. She claimed that Mr. Adjei Badu and other teachers attacked her father during his visit due to a long-standing dispute. “My father had gone there to wish the pupils well and advise them against examination malpractices but the teachers started questioning him. He told them he did not need permission from them to enter a school he built so they started attacking him and that is how it all begun,” she explained.
Police in the region have stated that no arrests have been made yet, but investigations are underway.
