Education Ministry consoles families of drown students

The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu has instructed the Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) to convene an urgent meeting with the Upper West Regional and Lawra District Directors of Education and the Headmaster of the Lawra School over the drowning of seven students from the school and report back to him.

In an unexpected and heartbreaking turn of events, 10 students from the school’s cadet corps, during a routine morning jogging exercise, reportedly attempted to cross the Black Volta River near Dikpe into Burkina Faso. 
The canoe they joined was reported to have tragically capsized midway through the journey. 

“We have confirmation through the Upper West Regional Minister and the Member of Parliament for Lawra that three of the 10 students were rescued while seven drowned,” a statement signed and issued by the Deputy Minister of Education Dr Clement Apaak said.

The statement said the bodies of the seven students who lost their lives, five girls and two boys, had since been retrieved by teams from National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), the Ghana Police Service, and the Ghana Education Service. 

“On behalf of the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu and government, I convey our deep shock and saddeness to the families of the seven students.

“We share in the grief of the affected families and the entire school community. Our thoughts and prayers are with them in this extremely difficult time,” it said. 

The statement said as the Ministry awaited a full report from the Ghana Police Service, “we wish to assure Ghanaians that we will continue to do our best to ensure the safety and security of our students.”