The Yayra-Si Youth Foundation has strongly condemned sexual violence and exploitation in educational institutions and expressed deep concern over reports of alleged sexual assault involving female students of the Obuasi Senior High Technical School by the head of the institution.
In a press statement dated 22 October 2026, the foundation said the disturbing allegations, brought to public attention through the JoyNews investigation by Manasseh Azure Awuni, reportedly involve as many as 19 female students. Accounts of alleged sexual abuse, intimidation and failures to act on earlier complaints raise serious concerns about student safety, institutional safeguarding and accountability within Ghana’s education system.
Educational institutions are expected to provide safe environments where students can learn, develop their talents and pursue their dreams without fear of intimidation, harassment or sexual exploitation. Any abuse of authority by a person in a leadership position represents a serious betrayal of trust and a violation of the dignity and fundamental rights of the affected girls and must be treated with the utmost seriousness.
The foundation emphasised that no position of authority grants anyone the right to sexually exploit or abuse a student. Every girl deserves to be treated with dignity, protected from harm and given equal opportunities to succeed in life.
It acknowledged the actions taken by the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service, including the interdiction of the headmaster and the directive for the Ashanti Regional and Obuasi East Municipal Education Directors to step aside pending investigations.
While these are important steps, the foundation said the response must go beyond administrative action to ensure justice, protection for the affected girls and accountability for any institutional failures established through the investigations.
Yayra-Si Youth Foundation called for immediate and comprehensive survivor-centred support, urging the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, working with the Ghana Education Service, the Ghana Health Service and relevant child protection agencies, to ensure that all affected girls have access to confidential, professional and trauma-informed psychosocial support, appropriate healthcare and legal assistance. Their safety, dignity, privacy and continued education must be prioritised, with support sustained beyond the investigations and public attention.
It also called for thorough and impartial criminal investigations by the Ghana Police Service and relevant authorities, with prosecution to follow where the evidence supports criminal charges in accordance with Ghanaian law and due process. Administrative sanctions must not replace criminal accountability.
The foundation further demanded accountability for institutional failures, calling for an independent examination of how complaints were received, documented, escalated and handled at the school, municipal and regional levels. Any official found to have concealed complaints, obstructed investigations or failed in their duty to protect students must face appropriate disciplinary or legal consequences.
It stressed the need for protection against intimidation and further harm for the affected girls, their families and individuals who reported concerns, as well as stronger safeguarding and reporting systems in schools. The Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service should review the effectiveness of existing school safeguarding and child protection mechanisms to ensure accessible and confidential reporting channels, clear procedures for escalating complaints, trained safeguarding personnel and effective oversight.
Beyond this particular case, the foundation called for regular safeguarding assessments in educational institutions, stronger monitoring of compliance with child protection policies and clear consequences for failures to fulfil safeguarding responsibilities.
It appealed to parents, guardians, teachers, traditional leaders, religious organisations, civil society groups and the general public to challenge attitudes and practices that normalise sexual violence, silence survivors or protect alleged perpetrators because of their social standing or positions of authority. Anyone with relevant information is encouraged to report it through appropriate and safe channels, while the public and the media must exercise restraint by avoiding the publication of information that could identify the affected students or expose them to further harm.
Yayra-Si Youth Foundation stood in solidarity with the affected girls and all survivors of sexual violence. It called on the relevant authorities to ensure that investigations are conducted fairly, promptly and without political or institutional interference, while keeping the public appropriately informed without compromising confidentiality.
The statement was signed by Esther Naa Ankrah, Executive Director of the Yayra-Si Youth Foundation.
