Abdul Fatawu Alhassan, the Member of Parliament for Yendi and a member of Parliament’s Select Committee on Education, has urged authorities to adopt a measured response to student violence, stressing that minors involved in such incidents should be handled through the juvenile justice system rather than the mainstream criminal process.
His comments follow a violent clash during an annual inter-schools sporting event in Agona Swedru involving students of Obrachire Senior High Technical School and Swedru School of Business. A video circulating on social media shows an OSTECH student being brutally assaulted. The victim was hospitalised and is reported to be in stable condition.
Speaking on Channel One Newsroom on Monday, February 23, Mr Alhassan said the matter should be treated both as a disciplinary issue and a potential criminal case, but cautioned against exposing minors to processes that could do more harm than good.
“I think the law should be allowed to take its course. We have the juvenile justice system. These students may not have reached the age that will warrant going through the normal justice system. Sometimes our normal justice system does not end up reforming people who are incarcerated; it hardens them. Given that these are students who are yet to get the right exposure in life, I don’t think they should start by being exposed to the four walls of prison,” he said, adding that any confinement should avoid contact with hardened criminals.
The MP also called on school authorities, teachers and housemasters to intensify supervision and preventive measures to curb hooliganism and ensure student safety during school activities.
In response to the incident, the Ghana Education Service has initiated inquiries, while the Ghana Police Service, through its Central Regional Command, has commenced investigations. All inter-school sporting events in the Central Region have been suspended until further notice, and three students have so far been arrested in connection with the assault.
