Sack GES Director General for complicity in Obuasi SHTS sex scandal; he received petition on September 16 — Yaw Opoku Mensah

Yaw Opoku Mensah, spokesperson for Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum’s campaign, has called for the immediate dismissal of the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), accusing him of failing to act promptly on a report concerning Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS).

In a statement, Mr Opoku Mensah questioned why the Director-General allegedly received the report on September 16 but did not take decisive action until October 14, when the Education Minister directed the interdiction of the school’s headmaster.

He argued that the delay raised concerns about the handling of the case and the subsequent decision to interdict other officials, including the Ashanti Regional Director of Education and the Obuasi East District Director.

“The Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) cannot be allowed to sacrifice innocent subordinates to save his own skin from the public backlash over his questionable handling of the Obuasi SHTS case,” he stated.

Mr Opoku Mensah demanded an explanation for the period between the receipt of the report and the ministerial directive, questioning why the Director-General was now presiding over a disciplinary process affecting other officers despite his alleged earlier knowledge of the matter.

He suggested that the delay could raise concerns about possible partisan considerations in the handling of the headmaster’s case, insisting that the Director-General should be held accountable for his actions and inactions.

The campaign spokesperson also challenged the reported involvement of the Obuasi East District Director, Mr Nketia, arguing that Obuasi SHTS falls within the jurisdiction of the Obuasi West District rather than Obuasi East.

He questioned why an officer whose administrative jurisdiction does not cover the school should face disciplinary action over the matter.

Mr Opoku Mensah further argued that officials who served on a committee with the Director-General’s express authorisation should not be subjected to what he described as humiliation and institutional punishment without a clear explanation of their respective roles.

He also questioned the focus on the Ashanti Regional Director and the Obuasi East District Director, particularly in light of the claim that the Obuasi West District Director had received several petitions concerning alleged rape cases at the school without acting on them.

According to him, the disciplinary measures appeared questionable and potentially politically motivated, especially if the affected officials had acted under the authority of the Director-General.

“The Ghana Education Service cannot be run on selective accountability, political convenience and the sacrifice of subordinates to protect powerful officeholders,” he said.

Mr Opoku Mensah maintained that accountability should begin at the top of the GES hierarchy and called on the Director-General to provide a credible explanation for his handling of the case.

He warned that the Director-General’s continued stay in office would raise serious public accountability concerns if he failed to justify the delay in responding to the report.

“Ghana’s education system deserves leadership that protects children, respects institutional boundaries, and accepts responsibility and not leadership that allows critical reports to gather dust before searching for subordinates to blame,” he added.