Sandema Snr High Tech Sch closed down - 1 Student dies over demo

One male student of the Sandema Senior High Technical School in the Builsa North District in the Upper East Region died last Tuesday when the police tried to quell a students’ disturbance in the school.

One female student also got injured but she was treated and discharged at the Sandema District Hospital.

The identities of the deceased and the injured student were not immediately known.

Following a meeting of the District Security Committee (DISEC), the school was closed down yesterday for two weeks and the students asked to leave the compound.

Police briefing

The Upper East Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Mr Osei Kwaku Ampofo Duku, who confirmed the incident to the Daily Graphic in Bolgatanga yesterday, said the students went on the rampage because members of the school cadet corps allegedly arrested some of the students and were punishing them for flouting some school regulations.

The action by the cadet corps, he said, infuriated some of the students, leading to a confrontation between members of the cadet corps and other students.

As the situation threatened to get out of hand, the school authorities called in the police to quell the disturbance, but when the police arrived on the school compound, the students became incensed and attacked the police vehicle with stones and anything they could lay their hands on.

The regional police commander said the police fired rubber bullets and tear gas to control the irate students, who eventually vandalised some school property, including some items in the dining hall.

DCOP Duku stated that as the police were retreating, they had information that one student had died when he was rushed to the Sandema District Hospital, while another had sustained injuries.