The Ashanti regional secretary of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Baba Atindaana Joseph has described as false, allegations that negligence of teachers at the KNUST Senior High School led to the demise of one of its students, Leonard Richard Sam after he had complained of severe stomach ache.
In a video which went viral on social media, the student was seen sitting on a table and being supported by four male students as he struggled for breath while some teachers looked on unconcerned. Reports later indicated that the teachers refused to offer any assistance for fear the boy might have been infected with coronavirus.
However Mr. Baba presents a rather different story in an audio recording narration sighted by ATLFMNEWS.
read: KNUST SHS students narrate how one of their colleagues died.
According to Mr Baba, the deceased was a day student who had been coopted into the school’s boarding house following the Covid-19 arrangements initiated by the Ministry of Education to have all day students made boarders. However his parents never informed the school about his medical condition prior to sending him to the boarding house.
He said on Monday July 6, 2020 the student fell ill in class and was rushed to the dormitory by his colleagues. The senior housemaster of the school was later informed of his predicaments.
Mr Baba says an exeat was issued to the deceased and his parents contacted; According to him, the boy’s mother indicated she was nowhere near the school.
The father was also contacted but could not arrive to the school earlier as he had promised. When school authorities reached out to the mother the second time, she disclosed to them that her son suffered an ulcer and thus directed them to give him his medications which the student had.
According to Mr Baba, reports gathered indicated that the deceased had eaten very late into the afternoon that day giving speculations it might have triggered the ulcer leading to the stomach pains he suffered.
When the medication was given to him he vomited. He was given a soymilk to sustain him with strength but reports say he threw up again.
According to Mr. Baba, in the video that went viral, the four students who were seen holding him had done so under the instruction of the assistance domestic head teacher who had asked them to hold him up so he could drink the soymilk.
Mr Baba said when the boy’s father arrived at the school later, he insisted to take away all of the boy’s belongings but was directed by the school’s headmistress to take the boy to the KNUST Hospital before he could come back for his belongs but the father refused .
The father took his son from campus in a taxi that was hired by the teachers and went to the Manhyia Hospital which was farther than the KNUST hospital. According to the father, KNUST Hospital was full with no bed to accommodate new patients. The boy received treatment at Manhyia Hospital, but the next day at about 1pm it was reported that the boy had died.
Baba Atindaana Joseph said he received facts of the matter from the NAGRAT representative in the school and was also at the school when the boy’s family presented a letter to the school notifying them about his demise.
Mr. Baba has thus called on his colleague teachers to disregard any media reportage that indicates otherwise, advising them to stand by their colleagues who are being accused on the grounds of negligence of responsibility.
This narration by the Ashanti Regional President of NAGRAT, however, comes in sharp contradiction to earlier reports of alleged gross negligence of duty by teachers of the school including the head mistress after the GES said it had established a case of neglect against the teachers.
GES sanctions headmistress and two others over student’s demise
Two teachers of the KNUST Senior High School (SHS) have so far been sanctioned by the Ghana Education Service (GES) over the demise of the final year Business student, Sam Leonard.
The duo – Mr. Seth Owusu Ansah, a Senior Housemaster, and Mr. Anthony Awotwe, a Housemaster, were removed from the school to be re-assigned by the Oforikrom Municipal Directorate of Education.
The Ashanti Regional Public Relations Officer of the GES, Mr. Mark Ofori, who made this known, said preliminary investigations, had established negligence of duty on their part.
This follows an earlier directive for the headmistress, Felicia Dankwa, to step aside and hand over the administration of the school to the Regional Education Director.
ATLFMNEWS
