Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu has vowed that nobody will be shielded in the investigation into the alleged sexual abuse of 19 schoolgirls at Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS). He made the pledge at a press briefing at the Ministry of Education head office in Accra on Monday, October 26, 2026.
The allegations involve the school’s suspended headmaster and emerged from an exposé by journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni. Hon Iddrisu announced confidential reporting channels, mandatory reporting rules and immediate suspensions for suspected teacher and student relationships, and he promised support for victims and whistleblowers.
“This scandal won’t suffer the same fate as other burning issues which are normally discussed with gusto in the media over a period and then go out with a whimper.”
Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu
Ministry Promises Action and Accountability
Hon. Iddrisu stated that the Ministry of Education will follow through on every part of the case, from administrative action to legal sanctions. He insisted that “justice will be done and will be seen to have been done.”
He disclosed that Gender Minister Dr Naa Momo Lartey and Ghana Education Service (GES) Director-General Professor Davis were in Obuasi as he spoke. The school has reopened fully to continuing and fresh students for normal academic work.
Calls for investigations into similar malpractice in other institutions continue, he noted. Meanwhile, the Gender Minister has urged the media to protect the victims’ identities.
No Party Cover for the Accused
Women’s rights groups had urged that political or party positions should not shield any accused person. Hon Iddrisu pledged to honour that, and he pointed to his own conduct. When Manasseh Awuni shared the findings with him before publication, he stated, “I did not hesitate after 5 minutes to act decisively on the matter.”
He added that the accused person’s party affiliation changes nothing. He also defended Vice President Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, who has expressed serious reservations about the case. She asked only for due process to be respected, he explained, and he rejected attempts to read more into her remarks.
Support for Victims and Whistleblowers
Hon. Iddrisu promised trauma-informed support for the victims, including the 19 affected students. The government will also work to protect whistleblowers, journalists among them.
He commended Manasseh Awuni for drawing public attention to the case, while noting that the Ministry will subject the findings to the legal test that due process requires of everyone. The Ace Investigative Journalist earlier criticised GES for failing victims of the abuse.
New Rules Target Reporting and Abuse of Power
The Minister announced directives aimed at the conditions that let such abuse persist. He has told the GES Director-General that no student should serve any headmaster or teacher as a domestic servant, a step that follows the GES ban on household chores at teachers’ bungalows.
Schools will also receive independent safeguarding officers and confidential reporting channels that bypass the headmaster’s office and link directly to independent bodies. The Ministry has been in touch with MTN to set up a hotline for open reporting.
The plan builds on a direct reporting system that the Ministry announced earlier. Hon Iddrisu also wants those who abuse students dealt with “ruthlessly and decisively.”
Mandatory reporting will anchor the new regime. The GES and its Girls Education Unit will enforce strict reporting protocols, and any suspected teacher-student relationship built on power will trigger immediate suspension and an independent review. The Ministry has separately vowed sanctions against directors who conceal abuse cases.
Hon Iddrisu explained the reasoning behind the suspension rule. “The teacher is in a position of power, and the student is a helpless person.”
Obuasi Is Not the Whole Picture
Hon Iddrisu stressed that institutional records show similar malpractice going back to 2021, and he disclosed that cases reported in 2022 included one at Twifo Basic School. He used the history to challenge those he accused of politicising the matter as if it began in 2025 or 2026.
He also urged the media not to stereotype. The safety and security of students are guaranteed across the country’s more than 720 secondary schools, he argued, and Obuasi should not be used to judge the rest. Character building and moral values, he added, remain a primary focus of the curriculum.
Audit and Consultation Come Next
Hon Iddrisu promised to audit school regulations and to monitor the conduct of headteachers and teachers, and even of students, if that requires naming focal persons. The Ministry will hold discussions with parents and students to find implementation gaps and close them. He will go to Parliament to strengthen policy and legal frameworks if the law needs it.
He asked parents, guardians and students to support the government in what he called its most important priority, the protection of every student in the country.
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