NAGRAT president accuses NDC of delaying action on Obuasi SHTS abuse allegations

The President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Jacob Anaba, has accused the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) of failing to act promptly on alleged abuse at Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS), despite claims that party officials knew about the matter before it became a national scandal.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Top Story on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, Mr Anaba described the party’s decision to direct the school’s headmaster, Zakaria Abdulai, to step aside from the Juaben Constituency Chairmanship race as “very, very late”.

He argued that action should have been taken when the allegations first emerged, rather than after the issue attracted widespread public attention.

Mr Anaba cited details he said were contained in an investigative video by journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni, alleging that the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) had visited the school at night to collect a girl who had reportedly been assaulted.

He said the housemistress had invited the student.

“So, the NDC was aware of the actions of this man in the school. So, they should have taken immediate steps to stop this thing when it started happening,” he said.

Mr Anaba accused the party of waiting until the allegations became a major public issue before responding, particularly after the headmaster had filed to contest the constituency chairmanship position.

“We cannot allow people like this to be in charge of our kids in our school. The school must be safe for all of our kids, boys and girls,” he added.

The claims about prior knowledge and the alleged assault have not been independently established in the information provided.

Mr Anaba also alleged that 38 teachers at the school, including a teacher who reported the concerns, were targeted for transfer by the district director following the events that led to the school’s closure in August.

He said the students were sent home on August 4 and a committee was subsequently established to investigate the matter.

According to him, the committee exonerated the headmaster after a few weeks of investigation.

Mr Anaba said the assistant headmaster later informed the teachers that the district director had directed their transfers.

“One of them is the focal person in the school who actually picked up this issue and made a report,” he said.

He added that the teachers remained at post while the issues were under investigation.

The NAGRAT president said some students had spoken to teachers they trusted about their experiences, while others had written letters to the district director, regional director and housemistress.

His comments add to calls for accountability over the handling of the allegations and for measures to protect students who report abuse in schools.

The Obuasi SHTS case has generated national concern, with 16 students reportedly alleging abuse involving the headmaster.

The Ghana Education Service (GES) has directed the Ashanti Regional and Obuasi Municipal Education Directors to step aside pending investigations. The headmaster remains interdicted, while the Education Ministry has directed the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to investigate the allegations.

The NDC has also directed Mr Abdulai to step aside from the Juaben Constituency Chairmanship race while the matter is investigated.

The investigations are ongoing.

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