Riots: Nkwanta SHS shut down, 30 students arrested

The Nkwanta Senior High School in the Nkwanta South Municipality of the Volta Region has been closed down indefinitely following riots and destruction of school property worth millions of Ghana cedis by some students.

The students were given a 4 pm ultimatum on Tuesday, 30 October 2018, to exit the school premises.

The authorities have subsequently called for a PTA meeting on Wednesday, 31 October 2018.

Meanwhile, police personnel have been stationed at the school as they commence investigations into the riots.

About 30 students of the school have also been picked up by the police in relation to the riots and destruction of property.

The students destroyed three cars belonging to the school, 16 motorbikes belonging to teachers, all the streetlights on the school compound, one air conditioner and some belongings of their teachers in the Monday night riots.

According to the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of the area, John Thasun, the incident occurred after some teachers seized the mobile phones of some House One students, who had skipped Prep and were hiding in their dormitories making calls.

He narrated to Class News’ Gemma Appiah in an interview that: “On 3 October 2018, there was a school performance appraisal meeting to find out the cause of the low performance of students. A decision was taken to instil discipline. From that day, the teachers have been praised for seizing the phones of students, for adding extra hours to teaching and for supervising students to do their personal studies.

“However, yesterday, [Monday], some teachers got to know some students don’t sleep at the dorm, so, they organised a roll call after Prep. The teachers made an unannounced visit to the dormitories during Prep, where they saw some students making phone calls and seized their phones.

“Some boys who were unhappy began to pelt the teachers who run for cover. The angry boys destroyed the streetlights on campus and chased the teachers who managed to escape. They called me and I called the police for assistance but the boys pelted the police, destroying the commander’s car.

“I called for military reinforcement from Nkwanta and the boys took to their heels; some into the bush and others into the town when they sighted the soldiers”.

Mr Thasun said the students went to the homes of the teachers who had seized their phones to ransack and destroy their belongings, including TV sets and other home appliances.

Calm has, however, been restored on campus.

Mr Thasun said the Regional Security Council will meet today, Tuesday, 30 October to decide on the next line of action.

Source: Ghana/ClassFMonline.com