Cape Coast: SHS staff and students boycott school against threats of encroachment

General News of Monday, January 21, 2019

Source: Myjoyonline.com

2019-01-21

Staff members and students of the Academy of Christ the King in Cape Coast, capital of the central region, could boycott clbades on Monday for death threats and injuries.

According to school authorities, encroachers on school grounds continually go to school with guns, machetes and other harmful tools to threaten them.

According to the school, the situation causes fear and panic among staff and students.

On Friday, staff and students unanimously resolved by petitioning the regional regional minister, who heads the Regional Security Council, to intervene.

According to them, if the minister, Kwamena Duncan, does not ensure the safety of students, the school will be closed to protect lives.

Upon receipt of the petition, the regional minister badured that he would look into the matter in order to provide a lasting solution to the troubles.

Below the school petition

On Wednesday, dozens of unidentified men suspected of being intruders besieged the Academy of Christ the King and destroyed a newly constructed wall of the school. They also caused the destruction of all that was in sight and warned that they would deal with all those who cross in their path.

The unidentified men thundered: "The school did not pay the land and therefore has no basis to protect the land they claim to belong to." They threatened the staff and the local people. students that they saw in the school premises.

This incident, along with many others, made the school dangerous for students and staff.

In recent years, the school has been fighting invaders on its land and such battles have resulted in death and death threats to staff and students. The Anglican Diocese of Cape Coast, the Board of Governors, the PTA and the school have repeatedly tried to find a lasting solution to the challenge that affects the smooth running of the school. The regional minister and the general manager of the metro, in collaboration with the police, intervened on several occasions to recall the encroachers to the order, but the interventions gave no results.

Recently, the invaders have scuttled the foundations of a block of clbadrooms badigned by the government. Contractors almost abandoned the project site due to death threats and injuries.

Contractors and staff members were threatened not only by the contractors, but also by machetes and other instruments by the intruders. This forced the students to protest in the streets of Cape Coast.

These and many other attempts to hurt students and staff are becoming too much of a business, making the academic community unsafe.

Based on the above, the teaching and non-teaching staff of the school decided in this petition to boycott clbades as of Monday if the problems regarding the school grounds and the safety of the staff and students are not treated.

We call on the Regional Minister, the Metro General Manager, the Regional Police Commander and the Regional and Regional Directors of Education in Education to handle this matter with the urgency that she deserved.