Head Teachers Sack 1,435 SHS Students A total of 1,435 Senior High Secondary School students have been sacked from four Senior High Schools across the country by school authorities who are paid by taxpayers to help mould the characters of the young ones to become better citizens in the future. According to the school authorities, the students have variously misconducted themselves therefore, have been driven out from their campuses with some expected to return and write their final exams, which is few days away. In the Northern Region, nine hundred and seventy-nine (979) final year students of the Northern School of Business Senior High School (NOBISCO) in Tamale, were suspended for misconduct. School authorities said some female students scaled the walls and sneaked into town at night with their boyfriends. Others were also accused of littering the dining hall with food served them. Headmaster of the school, Shaibu Wilberforce Adams, however, declined to make further comments when contacted. But some of the students who spoke to Joy News they say have been wrongly punished along with the few truant ones. They are therefore pleading with authorities to revoke their suspension since final exams begin next week. The students are pleading with authorities to intervene. Meanwhile, Joy News reported that some of the students who come from remote towns were stranded as they were unable to get vehicles to transport them to their various destinations. Some even slept on the streets, Hashmeen reported. NOBISCO is the second SHS to have suspended final year students for misconduct 24 hours after Kumasi Girls SHS in the Ashanti Region, suspended over 400 students after they were found guilty of similar offences. Kumasi Girls Senior High School (KUGISS) authorities took the action after checks revealed that the students sneaked out of campus during the Easter festivities. Banned items such as mobile phones, assorted dresses and cooked food were also seized from the students, mostly boarders. They will now have to write the final year exams from their homes. The disciplinary action leaves just about half of the 1,130 final year students on campus. On March 26, a meeting between school authorities, final year students and their parents on one hand discussed students’ attitude towards learning. It was agreed by both parties that final year students would stay on campus whilst those in first and second years go on vacation. It was heart breaking for school authorities to realise most of them sneaked out of campus on Thursday evening, after first and second year students had gone on vacation. Several roll calls on Thursday and Friday revealed dozens of the students scaled the school’s fence wall in midnight at a time their teachers had gone to sleep. Frustrated headmistress, Mary Krah-Ampofo says the move is to instill high level of discipline among students. “One of my teachers came and reported that, as early as 2 am, he met about 10 of the students walking to Abrepo Junction to pick a car in front of Islamic SHS. So I became very much alarmed and organized another roll call to realise that some of them scaled the wall,” the worried headmistress explained. Alcoholic beverage, pizza, mobile phones and dresses were seized from the students. “One of them came. We apprehended her in a taxi; she was wearing stretch under her dress, folded up to her knee, holding a box of pizza, some two tots in her dress. So you ask yourself where did she go?” Ms Kraah-Ampofo quizzed. Last year, school authorities launched investigations into a student club whose members spent lots of money to organize parties outside campus during Easter. The outcome prompted the regional education directorate to institute several disciplinary measures in affected schools. School authorities suspect students affected by the current suspension are members of that gang. Ms. Kraah-Ampofo warned more students risked facing disciplinary action if they are caught as security is tightened in the school. In the Volta Region, a total of 85 final year students of the Keta Business College (KETABUSCO) and Abor Senior High School (ABOSCO) have been withdrawn from the boarding house with immediate effect. They were found engaging in various acts of vandalism that threatened the safety of their colleagues on campus on separate occasions. At KETABUSCO, 47 students comprising 17 boys and 30 girls were alleged to have held Form one and two students to ransom, resulting in the collapse of a female asthmatic patient. The headmaster of the school, Mr. Emmanuel Damalie is reported by the Daily Graphic that there was complete anarchy on campus on Sunday, March 24 when Form Three and Four students decided to chase the Form one and two students around the campus. He said the unfortunate incident started in the morning until lunch time when some of the students were chased out of the school gate, exposing them to the dangers of passing vehicles. Mr. Damalie said one of the final year students was seen assaulting a form one student with a cane and a belt until the victim started crying. He said a female asthmatic patient was chased and in desperation ran towards the boys’ dormitory but the boys chased her back. He said the female student collapsed after two girls at the dormitory prevented her from entering her room. According to Mr. Damalie, another girl who had been recently operated upon for breast cancer was severely beaten while in another incident, the contents of a dustbin at the girls’ dormitory were poured on the incoming girls’ prefect. Mr. Damalie said it was inhuman and unreasonable for students to put up such barbaric behaviour against their mates. At the Abor Senior High School, the headmaster, Mr. Martin Fiamordzi said 52 students were involved in indiscipline behaviour in connection with the funeral of a student who had died from a motor bike accident on December 24 last year. He said 14 of the students had already served an internal suspension. He said 38 others-four girls and 34-boys were indefinitely suspended and would come from their homes to write their final examination. According to the headmaster, the students were found to have indulged in drunkenness, booing and jeering, shouting, assault, threat and fierce riding of motor bikes during the funeral in a video footage. He said the students also hijacked the corpse in a coffin and arranged a special funeral session in one of the classrooms. Source: The Herald