Obuasi SHTS scandal will not fade from public attention – Education Minister

Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu has vowed that the sexual abuse allegations at Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS) will not be allowed to fade from public attention without a resolution. Speaking at a press conference in Accra on Monday, October 26, 2026, the Minister said the case would not follow the pattern of other major public controversies that attract intense media attention before gradually disappearing from the national conversation. “Amid the calls from various sections of society for a full-scale investigation of similar malpractices in other educational institutions in the country, this scandal won’t suffer the same fate as other burning issues which are normal to be discussed with gusto in the media over a period and then go out with a whimper. That won’t happen in respect of this matter,” he said. Mr Iddrisu assured the public that the Ministry of Education would follow through on the case and work to ensure that justice is served. “The Ministry of Education would follow through and ensure that justice is done and justice will be done and will be seen to have been done,” he said. He also urged all parties involved to respect the legal process, stressing that the investigation must proceed in accordance with the law. “But due process will be followed and observed. So all parties must respect due process, and all parties must uphold the tenets and values and let the law take its course,” he added. The case has triggered national outrage, with 19 students reported to have made allegations of sexual abuse involving the school’s headmaster, Zakaria Abdulai. The Ghana Education Service (GES) has suspended Mr Abdulai pending investigations, while the Ministry of Education has directed the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service to investigate the allegations. The controversy has also prompted calls for a wider inquiry into similar allegations in other educational institutions across the country.