The Deputy Minister of Education, Dr. Clement Abas Apaak, has expressed surprise over why the sex scandal at Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS) was kept at the district level without escalation to the national level.
The scandal, which involves allegations of sexual misconduct, was uncovered by a documentary which revealed that students had over a period made regular complaints to teachers and authorities.
Speaking on Ghana Tonight on TV3 Tuesday, October 20, 2026, while responding to questions on the scandal and the actions taken so far, Dr. Apaak expressed shock that such a heinous issue could be kept within the corridors of the district without reporting to the national level.
According to him, the documentary establishes that teachers were aware of the situation and the Obuasi East Municipal Director of Education was also aware.
He said by the reporting structure of the Ghana Education Service (GES), the Ashanti Regional Director should have been informed as well.
“If the District or Municipal Director of Education, as we now know, at least from the documentary, was aware of this matter, if teachers were aware of this situation and if indeed the Regional Director was aware because we would assume that the Municipal Director will make the Regional Director aware. Why didn’t they escalate this to our level?” he questioned.
Dr. Apaak said the Ministry is intrigued by the decision to keep such a serious matter at the local level without pushing it up for onward action.
“What is the motivation behind keeping something like this at that level in light of what we now know was almost a regular complaint coming from students all pointing to some levels of misconduct?” he asked.
He said it is on the back of these questions that the GES has asked the Obuasi East Municipal Director of Education and the Ashanti Regional Director of Education to step aside.
The development comes in the wake of allegations against the interdicted headmaster of Obuasi SHTS, Zakaria Abdulai, who is at the centre of an investigation by Manasseh Azure Awuni titled ‘Inside the Dreaded Headmaster’s Bungalow’.
The investigation reported allegations of sexual harassment, assault and rape involving female students. The number of students who have reportedly come forward has risen from 16 to 19.
According to the investigation, the school’s Girl Child Coordinator petitioned management in February 2026, while five students reportedly made complaints to the Obuasi West Municipal Education Directorate in March. Further alleged incidents were reported in June and July.
NAGRAT President Jacob Anaba has also revealed that 38 teachers who spoke against the headmaster were asked to leave the school, and that complaints dating back to 2025 were ignored.
The headmaster was interdicted on October 14, 2026, on the orders of Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu, who has referred the matter to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for criminal investigation.
The NDC, which had earlier cleared Abdulai, who is its Juaben Constituency Secretary, to contest the Juaben chairmanship despite the allegations, has made a U-turn. The party had said his constitutional rights must be respected while investigations continue, but has now demanded his resignation. He has since resigned from his position and withdrawn from the race.
Child Rights International says the Obuasi case is not isolated but symptomatic of a wider culture of cover-ups and delayed action within the GES, and is calling for a complete overhaul of safeguarding policies in schools.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka disclosed on Tuesday, October 20, that Abdulai has been arrested and the investigation transferred to the Police Headquarters in Accra.
He said investigators are following due process, including procedures for DNA testing, as part of the probe.
