‘Don’t treat it as an Obuasi episode’ – Kofi Asare calls for school safeguarding reforms
The Executive Director of Africa Education Watch, Kofi Asare, has called on the Ghana Education Service (GES), the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Gender to use the sexual abuse scandal at Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS) as an opportunity to reform safeguarding systems across the country.
He said the allegations should not be treated as an isolated incident involving one school but as a wake-up call for a broader review of how sexual abuse complaints are handled and how students are protected in Ghanaian schools.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show during a discussion on the Obuasi SHTS scandal, Mr Asare said the most important outcome should be lasting changes to the system rather than a response limited to the case.
“For me, the most important thing in all this is that the GES, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Gender; these three agencies should not see what is happening as an Obuasi episode,” he said.
“No. We should see this as an opportunity to undertake system-wide reforms in safeguarding in Ghana.”
Mr Asare acknowledged that scandals could occur in any country but said the response to such incidents determined whether institutions learnt from them and prevented similar cases in the future.
He warned that treating the Obuasi case as an isolated incident would mean missing an opportunity to address weaknesses in the systems responsible for protecting students.
“In every country, you know, scandals happen. But the most important thing is what countries, what nations make out of these scandals,” he said.
“If we reduce it to a case, then we've lost it.”
Mr Asare said one of the key reforms needed was to move safeguarding responses away from the direct control of the GES and place them under an external agency.
He said that relying on the same institution to handle complaints and oversee responses could make it difficult to address persistent weaknesses in the system.
He said Africa Education Watch had proposed an arrangement that would give an independent body responsibility for responding to safeguarding concerns in schools.
“We should see this as a launchpad to undertake system-level reforms in safeguarding in our schools,” he said.
He added that the proposed changes should include “feeding safeguarding responses to an external agency other than the GES system”.
According to him, such a move would help address recurring problems instead of allowing the same issues to emerge repeatedly without meaningful reform.
Mr Asare also welcomed the decision by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to withdraw Zakaria Abdullahi from the party's election in Juaben, but said this should have been taken without the need for sustained public pressure and advocacy.
“I mean, the person has withdrawn. It is good,” he said.
However, Mr Asare expressed concern that the decision came only after considerable pressure from campaigners and other concerned groups.
“Unfortunately, it had to come on the back of strenuous advocacy and pressure. Well, we welcome the decision. But the standards for me are the most important for our democracy,” he said.
He warned that Ghana was likely to encounter similar cases in the future, including situations involving people with political connections or links to political parties.
“We will definitely meet similar cases in the future where people who are politically connected or politically associated persons participate in illegal activities in our school environment. Definitely, we will meet those cases,” he said.
Mr Asare said the way political parties respond to such incidents would help establish standards for dealing with future cases.
He said that taking a clear position when concerns first arise would make it easier for political parties and institutions to respond consistently when similar situations occur.
“And so when you have good precedent, it makes it easier for the next incident to follow suit,” he said.
While welcoming the NDC's decision, Mr Asare said that the party should not have waited for public pressure before taking action.
“But it shouldn't have come on the back of pressure and advocacy. It should have been an easier decision to take in the interest of the parties,” he said.
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