Following the revelations of systemic sexual abuse, exploitation, and institutional failures at the Obuasi Senior High Technical School, Parliament's select committees on Education, Human Rights, Gender, Children and Social Welfare has directed the ministries of Education and Gender to co-design and establish an independent reporting system in senior high schools to enable students report sexual abuse without going through their head teachers or other school authorities.
According to the parliamentary committees, there should be independent reporting pathways since the current administrative pathways for reporting sexual misconduct within the Ghana Education Service (GES) "are broken."
The two committees have therefore directed the two ministries [Gender and Education] to co-design an independent, third-party reporting mechanism that bypasses local school heads entirely, allowing students to report abuse directly to a centralised protected registry.
The directive forms part of recommendations by the two committees following a joint briefing on Tuesday [November 10, 2026], by the sector ministers of Education and Gender, Children and Social Protection on the alleged sexual abuse at Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS).
The directive was contained in a joint media statement issued by the committee after the Tuesday briefing.
The committee described the existing administrative channels for reporting sexual misconduct within the Ghana Education Service (GES) as “broken” and called for measures to prevent complaints from being suppressed within the education system.
They recommended that the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection work with relevant institutions to establish a register of sexual offenders to deter people from engaging in sexual offences against children.
The Ministry of Education was also directed to conduct an independent safeguarding audit of all boarding and day second-cycle institutions to assess student safety, accommodation risks and staff compliance with the GES Code of Conduct.
The committee further recommended that the Education Ministry work with relevant institutions to train teachers on the code of conduct.
Both ministries were also asked to establish a coordinated system to identify and address sexual abuse and other forms of misconduct in schools.
The two ministers are expected to brief Parliament regularly until criminal prosecutions are concluded and the proposed reforms are implemented.
The committees said they would maintain “active, unyielding oversight” of the process.
Support for survivors
The committees called for counselling and medical care for survivors at the state's expense.
The services are expected to be provided by the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection in partnership with the Ghana Health Service.
They also stressed the need to protect the identities of survivors, warning that students, parents or staff members who subjected them to stigma or intimidation would face prosecution under the Children's Act.
The committees further urged the Ministry of the Interior and the Inspector-General of Police to expedite criminal proceedings against the interdicted headmaster of Obuasi SHTS, Zakaria Abdulai.
They also called on the judiciary to treat the case with urgency and urged religious leaders and political institutions not to interfere with the criminal justice process.
The committees commended the two ministries for their initial responses, including the interdiction of the headmaster and the deployment of psychological support teams.
The proposed independent reporting system is intended to prevent complaints from being stalled within the school and education administration.
Investigation
The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, had told Parliament that the committee established on October 14 to investigate the allegations had done 85 per cent of its work.
He said the evidence gathered so far suggested a prima facie case and that prosecution was expected to begin shortly.
