Islamic SHS Clash: A/R Director of Urban Roads To Face sanctions
The Ashanti Regional Director of the Department of Urban Roads is to be sanctioned for failing to provide speed breaks in front of the Islamic Senior High School leading to the clash between students of the school and police officers last month.
Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee in a report to the plenary of the House on the clash after a fact-finding mission to the school said the clash would have been avoided had the department considered the several appeals by the school authority for the speed breaks.
“The committee requests that the Regional Director of the Department of Urban Roads in the Ashanti Region should be sanctioned for failing to provide pedestrian crossing and speed ramps on the stretch of the road [in front of the school], although several letters had been written to his outfit in that regard,” the report said.
Signed by the Chairman of the Committee and MP for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong, the report which was adopted yesterday noted that the school had been making the request for speed ramps since 2012 the latest one being September 5, 2021, but to no avail.
This, Mr. Agyapong who moved the motion for the adoption of the report, said constituted “negligence” hence the director must pay the price.
The committee in its report also recommended that “the Ministry of Roads and Highways as a matter of urgency provide pedestrian crossing and speed ramps to ensure safe usage of the road by both motorists and pedestrians.”
The committee also wants the Ministry of Education to provide the school with “more basic amenities such as classrooms, big auditoriums, dormitories, residential facilities for teachers, well-equipped laboratories among others to address the challenges of the school.”
This is because the student population of 6,000 is so high that “amenities and existing infrastructure do not commensurate with student population.
“With only seven resident teachers managing about 3,000 boarding students, it creates a huge disparity which makes it difficult to maintain order on campus.”
Students of the school located at Abrepo junction in the Ashanti Region clashed with police on Monday, June 13, 2022, after the students took to the streets to demonstrate following news that one of their teachers who was knocked down by a speeding vehicle in front of the school had died.
At least 38 students, a tutor, and eight policemen were injured in the melee after police allegedly opened tear gas on them as they demonstrated over what they said was the neglect of the school in the face of the frequent road accidents at its frontage.
Subsequently, the Speaker directed the committee to visit the school, the police, and all other relevant agencies to establish what led to the fracas and recommend to the House what should be done.
Source: Ghanaian Times
