Kofi Adams, the Buem Member of Parliament (MP), has said that the rise in violent incidents in secondary and higher education facilities is concerning.
His remarks follow a viral video of two Adisadel College students engaging in a violent behavior. He voiced worry at the on-the-spot decision to record the encounter by bystanders, rather than separating the parties. He called the video “terrible” and revealed to have even taught at the Adisadel College in the past.
“The video is terrible and it is a worry. Since A level was removed and the number of years in secondary school reduced, a lot of the students are young. Instead of the rate of bullying to reduce, it’s getting worse; it’s getting worse at secondary and tertiary levels.
“It’s getting out of order. One bad thing that keeps happening is that when someone is doing something that’s not good, instead of bystanders telling the person to stop it, they rather take phones and capture, comment and laugh. That rather encourages the person to continue the wrong act.”
Kofi Adams
However, the Buem MP urged officials to take the appropriate steps to serve as a warning to students around the country.
Meanwhile, a worried parent of a student at Cape Coast’s Adisadel College, related a troubling narrative of how law and order appeared to have totally collapsed inside the formerly esteemed educational institution.
The parent, who requested anonymity, described a number of alarming occurrences that raise major concerns about the safety and wellbeing of pupils.
The parent claimed that numerous incidents of student bullying and physical assaults, have gone unreported to the school administration. The claimed events involve older pupils allegedly intimidating and brutally assaulting younger ones without any help from the faculty.
He further stated that because of the general sense of lawlessness and impunity at the school, his child and the other children have had to live in fear. In addition, he opined that attempts to bring the issue to the school administration’s notice were met with denial and indifference.
What’s more, the parent lamented the lack of appropriate sanctions and accountability for those responsible for these crimes. He added that the school’s lack of action has simply made the problem worse and created a setting, where bullying and violence seemed to be accepted.
Students Involved In Violent Assault Suspended
Following the release of the frightening video depicting a violent assault on a student inside the school’s grounds, the headmaster of Adisadel College has responded to it.
In the viral video, a student is seen holding the victim’s arms and violently slamming his face on a metal bed, leaving the victim with severe bleeding under his right eye. Parents, students, and members of the public are outraged and concerned about the incident, which was made public by the viral video.
According to a brief statement purportedly issued by the headmaster through the chairman of the parent teacher association (PTA) of the school, the event allegedly took place on June 30, but both the culprit and the victim kept it as a secret from the authorities.
As provided through the statement, both the attacker and the victim have been sent home. However, the victim is expected to take his West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) at a WAEC location.
The individual who recorded the upsetting occurrence will also be suspended externally for one week, as punishment for his role in it. “The housemaster and his co will be suspended immediately, pending the outcome of this video (act) by GES,” the statement continued.
At the moment, there are significant worries about the safety and welfare of pupils in the school community as a result of the assault and the subsequent dissemination of the video on social media.
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