Deputy Education Minister visits 2 schools gutted by fire
The Deputy Minister of Education, Dr Clement Apaak, has expressed concern about recent fire outbreaks in some senior high schools across the country.
Following his visits to the Pong Tamale SHS and the Tolon SHS in the Northern Region earlier last Thursday where fire gutted the girls’ dormitories in both schools, he called for stronger collaboration with the Ghana National Fire Service to prevent future incidents.
“If it is the case that we may need to have a much more intimate working partnership with the Ghana National Fire Service, so that from time to time, they will send personnel to our various secondary schools to do some monitoring and evaluation,” he explained.
Dr Apaak explained that such exercise could trigger an early-warning system that would require close attention to prevent similar occurrences.
He said there was a need to understand the causes of the fires fully and asked whether they were linked to students using unapproved electrical devices or to acts of arson.
“I am worried that just one week, we have recorded three fire outbreaks in our secondary schools in the Northern Region, all involving girls’ dormitories,” Dr Apaak told journalists after touring the two schools.
He also urged school authorities to investigate the causes of the fires thoroughly and remain vigilant in enforcing safety measures to protect students and school property.
Dr Apaak explained that he was instructed by the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, to visit the school to get first-hand information on the extent of the destruction for immediate action.
On January 28, 2026, about 900 students of the NOBISCO were displaced after fire gutted the girls' dormitory block.
Five days later, on February 2, 2026, another fire outbreak destroyed the girls’ dormitories of the Pong Tamale SHS and the Tolon SHS.
In March last year, a fierce fire swept through three girls' dormitories at the Labone Senior High School in Accra while students were attending their afternoon prep, affecting three of six dormitories.
One dormitory was destroyed, while two others suffered partial damage.
