Adisadel College saga: Case should’ve been settled out of court – Osei Owusu

First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joesph Osei-Owusu has expressed a contrary view over the prosecution of the culprit involved in the Adisadel College assault.

The Deputy Speaker who was speaking at the 10th-anniversary celebration of Fettehman Senior High School suggests the matter could have been handled by the school’s authorities other than the culprit being put before trial in a general court.

“We should look at how we bring up children in this country since it is becoming a challenge. The kind of upbringing is important. There is no need for him to be that violent towards another student. If we discuss this in isolation, we would miss it. What happened in the school is a reflection of what is happening in the country. We think we are not supposed to punish students and this is how we pay for it as a country.

“There is nothing wrong with students being at each other, but when it gets beyond regular bullying, it is bad. I regret that it has been taken to the court since this matter could have been addressed in the school, but the Attorney General thinks otherwise,”Joseph Osei-Owusu said.

Despite condemning the acrimonious act perpetrated by the student, Hon. Osei Owusu believes the culprit should have been counselled just so he can concentrate on his studies for the sake of his future.

In the video, a 17-year-old final-year student was seen choking the neck of his colleague and subsequently smashing his head against a metal bed causing injury to the victim.

Mr Osei Owusu also expressed worry over the falling standards of discipline and has questioned the moral upbringing of Ghanaian children and called for more conscious efforts in instilling discipline among children.

“Whatever has happened should be left in the past and look forward to reforming the students involved in the video. We are copying blindly, and we must go back to our roots as Ghanaians,” the First Deputy Speaker noted.

Meanwhile, on the issue of the lack of adequate infrastructure in Fettehman Senior High School the First Deputy Speaker urged the Member of Parliament to raise concerns on the floor of Parliament for further action while urging students to uphold strong moral values and integrity.

The school has an infrastructure deficit as the facilities available on campus are not enough for the over one thousand five hundred students.
Students are left with no option but to sit under trees to eat.

Quite apart from these challenges, the school has embarked on a project of constructing a bungalow for the headmistress of the school but wants support from the government and well-meaning Ghanaians to complete it.

The board chairman of the School Joseph Annan said the school needs support to cater for the over a thousand students.

“We have a lot of infrastructure deficit as a school, ranging from the lack of accommodation on campus for teachers to the lack of a dining hall among others. This has made it difficult for the school to function” Board chairman of the school, Joseph Annan said.

“With a little effort we have begun constructing the bungalow for the headmistress, but we will need support from corporate Ghana and the government to finish this project” the board chairman noted.

Regional Director of Education for the Central Region admits the challenges with infrastructure on campuses of most Senior high school is enormous but says the directorate is working hard in addressing these challenges.

“The challenges of infrastructure on the campuses of some schools in the region cannot be left out, but we are working hard to ensure that support comes from government and well-meaning Ghanaians” Regional Director of Education Emmanuel Essuman said.