Headmistress exonerated from charge of striping students naked

A five- member committee set up by the Board of Governors of the Abetifi Presbyterian Senior High School (SHS) to investigate allegations of beating and striping of 13 students naked, has exonerated the head mistress.

Addressing a news conference at the school, the Chairman of the Board of Governors, Dr Edward Newton Appah said the committee’s report did not establish Mrs Charlotte Asante’s involvement in striping the students naked.

He said according to the report, a number of persons including students, house masters, school prefects and an eye witness appeared before the committee, but all denied the media report that the students were stripped naked by the headmistress.

The Board Chairman said, the report stated that, the Parent Teacher Association in collaboration with the headmistress and staff agreed to organise morning prep from 5am to 5: 45am to promote teaching and learning.

According to the report, on the day of the incident, most of the boys did not attend the morning prep, which prompted the prep supervisor to find out the reasons for the low attendance and punish those who absented themselves.

The report stated that, those who absented themselves were at the dormitory with their boxer shorts and when they saw the prep supervisor and his team, they run into the bush.

When the students returned from the bush, they were summoned before the headmistress, who took pictures of them and asked them to go and dress properly and come for invitation letters to their parents.

Dr Appah said, 11 out of the 13 students had signed bonds to be of good behaviour during their stay in the school.

He noted that the school had seen academic improvement since Mrs Asante took over its administration, adding the school placed third in the Eastern Region and 12 in the country in last year’s West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examination.

The Board Chairman called on parents, teachers, students and other staff of the school to cooperate with the headmistress and other management staff to sustain the development of the school.