The Ghana Education Service (GES) has announced the arrest of three individuals in connection with a violent incident that occurred during the district inter-schools athletics competition. The altercation took place between students of Obrachire Senior High Technical School and Swedru School of Business (SWESBUS), disrupting the event and raising concerns over the safety of participants.
Dr. Juliette Dufie Otami, the Central Regional Director of Education, confirmed the arrests in an interview with JoyNews on Monday, February 23. She revealed that law enforcement authorities are actively investigating the matter to ascertain whether those apprehended are students or external individuals who may have been involved.
“We are working with the Police; they made about three arrests as of yesterday. That is the information I have gathered. Whether they are students or not is one of the things we are investigating. Because when these things happen, you will likely find town boys involved,” Dr. Otami stated.
The confrontation reportedly occurred on Thursday, February 19, in Agona Swedru, when tensions between students from the two schools escalated into physical violence. The incident disrupted the athletics competition and posed significant risks to students, staff, and spectators.
In response to the altercation, GES issued a statement expressing deep concern over the developments. The statement emphasized that such incidents undermine the values of healthy competition and jeopardize the safety and well-being of all involved.
As an immediate measure, the Central Regional Directorate of GES has suspended all zonal inter-school sporting activities involving Senior High Schools (SHSs) and Senior High Technical Schools (SHTSs) in the region. This suspension will remain in effect pending a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the clash.
GES has reassured stakeholders that appropriate actions will be taken to ensure accountability and restore order in school sporting events. The service also reiterated its commitment to fostering a safe and conducive environment for academic and extracurricular activities across schools in Ghana.
The recent incident has prompted calls for strengthened security measures and enhanced oversight during inter-school events to prevent future occurrences of violence.
-By Tetteh Belinda | GhanaCrimes
