Youth threaten to attack teachers at Abesim

Abesim (B/A), June 22, GNA - Teachers at the Methodist School at Abesim near Sunyani, are living in fear due to threats of attack on them by the youth of the town for dismissing some recalcitrant Junior Secondary School (JSS) students.

The teachers have at a meeting, resolved "to take steps to quit the school" if the chief and opinion leaders of the town did not prevail upon the youth to give recognition to the dedicated services they were rendering in the community.

A resolution to this effect was adopted at the end of the meeting and signed by Mr. Peter Atuahene, Headmaster and Mr. Fred Adjei-Korang, Staff Secretary, which was made available to Ghana News Agency on Monday.

It was addressed to the Brong Ahafo Regional Manager of the Methodist Education Unit and copied to the Circuit Supervisor, PTA Chairman, local GNAT Chairman, Chief of Abesim, Assembly Member and Secretary of the Leaders Meeting of Good Shepherd Methodist Church in the town.

"Reports from unimpeachable sources, corroborated by our pupils point to a planned assault on teachers in the school, especially at the JSS level, by a group of youth who are said to have been angered by the dismissal of the boys."

"At a meeting on this issue we took a serious view of the threat, taking into cognisance the fact that assault on teachers is not uncommon in the town," the resolution added.

The resolution explained that as part of their determination to instil sound discipline and moral values into pupils in the school, four recalcitrant JSS boys who had persistently posed a serious threat to discipline were recently dismissed for bad conduct.

The teachers said the parents of these boys had been cautioned and invited to the school on countless occasions in connection with their wards' misbehaviour.

They recalled that the life of one of them was threatened last term by some of the youth of the town for suggesting a police action against one of them who went to the school to attack a schoolgirl who had restrained him from talking to another girl of the school during class hours.

Some of them also told Ghana News Agency of another incident during which one of the female teachers was attacked and brutalized by some of the youth for not allowing one of them to talk to another schoolgirl, also during school hours.

"We therefore resolved to take steps to quit the school in view of the insecurity of our lives, which has deprived us of the peace of mind required for effective teaching and learning", they said.

The teachers appealed to the chief and opinion leaders in the town to prevail on the youth to recognize the dedicated services that they were rendering to in the community and to give them the needed protection and security to stay and serve.

"It must be pointed out that any delay in addressing this issue will give us the ground to advise ourselves, as human life is precious", the resolution said.