Local news

Aheto Tsegah questions basis for ‘political dismissal’ of Chiana SHS girls

One-time Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Charles Aheto Tsegah is questioning the basis for the dismissal of eight female students of the Chiana Senior High School after they insulted the President.

He feels the decision by the GES to dismiss the students is not only poorly thought through but one that is political as well.

“As I look at it, there are too many holes in this matter that a decision has been taken to placate something. If you put education in the hands of politicians and not educators, you have this kind of problem because they are always interested in their political leaders rather than the children who have to be taken care of in terms of their education”, he told Umaru Sada Amadu on Eyewitness News.

The eight students – all females were dismissed for making derogatory comments against President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in a viral video.

Following their misconduct, the Management of the GES condemned the act and apologised to the President on behalf of the students, school and members of the public.

After extensive investigations into the conduct of the students, however, the Service directed the dismissal of all eight students from the school.

The decision has sparked various discussions on social media while some describe the decision as harsh others are of the opinion that it is absolutely in order.

“The question is, did the school take the students through a disciplinary committee which recommended that a political act should be dismissal? This has nothing to do with their education. They were engaging in a political activity. We really need to look at the matter that we want to render dismissal for an act such as what these eight girls have committed”, Mr. Tsegah added.

Meanwhile, the students have apologised and have also asked for clemency.

Some of the students who spoke to Citi News said they didn’t mean to say what was uttered in the video which has since gone viral.

They said they were only imitating social media trends.

Hamidu Huzaimah Daabu, one of the dismissed students said they were asked to leave the school on November 15, 2022, and when they were called for a meeting on January 11, they thought it was to announce their return only to be handed dismissal letters.

“It was Wednesday [January 11] that they called us to come for a meeting, and I was thinking that they were calling us to come and do some manual punishment, but when we got there with our parents, we were given dismissal letters which made us cry before the headmistress and the district director of education.

“I am pleading for them to have mercy on us because we are left with a few months to complete [SHS] and come home, we are willing to sign a bond and any other punishment.”

“We were only imitating people on social media, and we didn’t know it will go this far, please have mercy on us,” she pleaded.