Death of National SHS student: Family demands justice

The authorities of the Ghana National College in Cape Coast have pledged their commitment to cooperate with investigations to ensure justice for all parties in respect of the death of a final-year student of the school.

The Headmaster of the school, Ato Sarpong, told the Daily Graphic that his report on the incident had been submitted to the regional directorate of education for onward submission to the headquarters.

He said the school was ready to assist the authorities in further investigations, and expressed condolences to the bereaved family.

Call for justice

The family of 18-year-old Theophilus Ansah is seeking justice for what they describe as negligence on the part of the school authorities that led to the demise of the student.

The third-year Science student of the Afedu House died at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital on Saturday, July 6, 2024, after he was referred from the Ewim Polyclinic.

Ansah was referred to the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital Intensive Care Unit on Wednesday, July 3, 2024, but died on July 6, 2024.

Press conference

Giving a chronological presentation of events at a news conference in Cape Coast yesterday, the spokesperson of the family, Lucy Quainoo, said on Friday, June 28, 2024, Ansah called his mother that he was not well. 

She said his mother told him to go to the infirmary, but the boy called back and told the mother that there was nobody at the infirmary to attend to him.

Ms Quainoo said his mother sent him money through one Mr Alhassan to buy medicine and to come home from school, but the boy said he had a mock exam the following Monday and so he would not like to leave school.

She said on Monday, July 1, 2024, a student called his mother that during the writing of the mock exam, Ansah vomited severally but no invigilator bothered to ask him what was wrong.

The spokesperson further stated that around 6:20 p.m. of the same day, the parent received a call from a student that Ansah had become very weak.

Ms Quainoo said the parent, therefore, called the supposed Mr Alhassan, a senior labourer at the school, to inform Ansah’s Housemaster to send him to the hospital, while she was on her way from Tarkwa.

The Housemaster was said to have released the student to the said Mr Alhassan on behalf of the parent to be sent to the Ewim Polyclinic in Cape Coast.

Ms Quainoo said nobody from the school management checked on the boy for the three days the Housemaster released him to be sent to the hospital.

The spokesperson said Ansah's father had to call the Parents Association (PA) Chairman to question the Headmaster on the incident.

She said the Headmaster instead called the father of the student to complain about why he had reported him to the PA Chairman.

Intervention

Ms Quainoo said it took the intervention of the Regional Director of Education in Cape Coast before the school authorities came around after the demise of the student.

She said the family wanted investigations into whether there was a working infirmary in the school and whether the school hierarchy was effectively working.

The Central Regional Director of Education, Emmanuel Essuman, has also expressed condolences to the family, saying he was optimistic that justice would be served.