Father of Stacy Okyere, the deceased Aburi Girls Senior High School student, Mr Kingsley Okyere has claimed that the school notified him a staggering 7 hours after his daughter fell ill.
Despite the delayed alert, he raced to the school from Ablekuma in just 34 minutes, highlighting the urgency and distress surrounding the tragic incident.
Stacy Okyere, a Form 1 student, succumbed to an undisclosed illness on February 4, only a month after joining Aburi Girls SHS. Her grieving father, Kingsley Okyere, accuses the school of negligence, asserting, “The school has killed my child.”
Mr. Okyere received a distressing call from his daughter’s housemistress at 8 pm on that fateful Sunday. Despite expressing his frustration at the delayed notice, he rushed to the school, covering the distance in record time. Recounting the ordeal, he states, “I used 34 minutes from Ablekuma to Aburi Girls. I was driving at top speed and was even stopped by the police, who later understood it was an emergency.”
Upon arrival, the distraught father found Stacy lying unconscious on the floor, surrounded by her peers. His wife’s anguish filled the room as they discovered the dire state of their daughter. Mr. Okyere promptly took matters into his own hands, rushing Stacy to the Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital in Mampong.
“I carried my daughter from the floor and rushed to the car. My friend drove us to Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital at Mampong, and while we were in the car, I kept blowing air through my daughter’s mouth to try and keep her alive,” he narrates.
Despite the frantic efforts, Stacy was pronounced dead-on-arrival at the hospital. Staff at Mampong confirmed her demise, adding another layer of sorrow to the grief-stricken family.
Mr. Okyere vehemently asserts that his daughter had no pre-existing health conditions, challenging the school’s version of events. He questions why the institution failed to promptly transfer Stacy to the hospital and criticizes the lack of urgency in seeking medical attention for his ailing child.
Efforts to obtain the school’s perspective were futile, as the Headmistress remained unavailable for comment. The Assistant Headmaster redirected inquiries to the Headmistress, who did not grant an interview, leaving unanswered questions about the school’s response and healthcare protocols.
The tragic incident has prompted concerns about health and safety facilities in schools, with education advocates emphasizing the need for robust health protocols and facilities to safeguard students’ well-being.
As the family demands an independent investigation into Stacy’s death, the Aburi Girls SHS community is grappling with the aftermath of a student’s untimely demise and the broader questions it raises about the healthcare infrastructure within educational institutions.