The Conference of Heads of Basic Schools (COHBS) in the Upper East Region’s Bawku Municipality has called for the immediate closure of basic schools in the area.
This comes in the wake of recent sporadic shootings and killings of unarmed citizens in the municipality.
Authorities issued a ban on riding tricycles, popularly known as “yellow yellow,” in an attempt to address the region’s surge in violent crimes.
This was due to tricycles being one of the most commonly used modes of transportation during crimes in the area. Regardless, the killings continue.
The COHBS argued in a letter to the Municipal Director of Education on September 22, 2022, signed by the Municipal Chairman, Abugri Busia, that students’ safety cannot be guaranteed in such times, necessitating the need to close schools in the interim.
“Following the insecurity and the subsequent ban on tricycles, we wish to appeal to you to close down basic schools in the municipality, pending improvement in the security situation,” the letter read.
Also, COHBS has entreated the parties involved in the mayhem “to put their guns down for peace to prevail for the sake of school pupils and their future.”
The letter was addressed to the municipal secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the zonal chairman of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), the municipal chief executive, and the secretary of the Coalition of Concerned Teachers (CCT).
Bawku Municipal Director of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Azeriya Ayeriga, who received the letter, said he does “not have the power to close down public basic schools in Bawku due to insecurity; it is only the Municipal Security Committee (MUSEC) that has the power to do so.”
Background
In January this year, the REGSEC placed a ban on the use of motorbikes in the Bawku municipality and its environs, describing security in the area as volatile.
This was put in place after two people were found dead, and eight others wounded, after a gun attack in Daduri, a suburb of Bawku.
Recent tensions can be traced back to December 27, 2021, when gunfire erupted in parts of town following attempts to perform the final funeral rites of a chief who died 41 years ago.
Following the violence, the entire township was placed under curfew, and smocks were prohibited.
Male pillion riders were also barred. After the violence, thirteen individuals were detained and flown to Accra.
The Ministry of the Interior, on September 5, 2022, reviewed the curfew due to increased insecurity.
The government further announced a total ban on the carrying of arms, ammunition, or any offensive weapon within the area.
On Monday, September 19, 2022, the Upper East Regional Security Council (REGSEC) at its emergency meeting reviewed the security situation in the Bawku municipality and have introduced additional measures.
Source: The Independent Ghana