GES directs Ashanti Regional and Obuasi Municipal education directors to step aside over Obuasi SHTS probe

The Ghana Education Service (GES) has ordered the Ashanti Regional Director of Education, Dr William Amankrah Appiah, and the Obuasi Municipal Director of Education, Kwamena Owusu-Nketiah, to temporarily resign as the probe into allegations of sexual misconduct by Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS) headmaster Zakaria Abdulai persists.

A GES statement, signed by its Public Relations Head Daniel Fenyi, revealed the directive was issued to guarantee the investigation's impartiality. The two directors were instructed to vacate their offices and surrender any state property to Deputy Ashanti Regional Director of Education Thomas Kwame Boateng. Despite reports suggesting Abdulai had been cleared, the GES emphasized he remains under interdiction.

The GES appealed for public calm and cooperation as the investigation unfolds. The call for reassessment of Abdulai's handling of the allegations intensified following pressure from civil society groups like RISE-Ghana and political entities such as the National Democratic Congress (NDC), which has prompted Abdulai to withdraw from an upcoming constituency candidacy.

Multiple students have reported 16 instances of alleged abuse. The Ministry of Education has handed the matter over to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service for further examination. The Education Ministry has directed the CID to probe the allegations, and the GES has emphasized the necessity of stakeholders' cooperation in the ongoing investigation.