Sammy Awuku Warns Okudzeto Ablakwa

Sammy Awuku, National Youth Organizer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), has lambasted the Ministry of Education for attempting to sanction some schools in the capital for allowing their pupils to participate in the NPP "Won Gbo" demonstration. According to Sammy Awuku, it is simply a hypocritical stance on the part of the Ministry. Pupils from four schools were said to have been captured chanting unpleasant slogans not excluding "Mahama is a thief!Mahama is dumsor!!!" during the recent New Patriotic Party [NPP’s] infamous “Wↄn Gbo” demonstration. The pupils were said to have to have taken advantage of their break time to participate in the demonstration, which was held in protest against the current power crisis. Their participation, according to some, especially the IMANI President Franklin Cudjoe, is justified and would rather government find ways of resolving the ailing economy as well as putting a stop to the erratic power supply, instead of the attempt to sanction some school heads which he considers unreasonable. The pupils' action, incurred the displeasure of Government, so much so that, a vivid investigation was launched into the circumstance. But even before that, the heads of the four schools in the Junior High Schools, Christiana Hanson Nortey with the Mantse Tackie 1&3 Primary, Ernestina Ofori Attah with the Liberty Avenue 1 and 4, Margrette Amankra with the Liberty Avenue 3, and Lucy Kanyagui Adeku with the Reverend Ernest Bruce Memorial School have all been cautioned and would probably be sanctioned further for allowing their pupils to take part in the demonstrations. Deputy Education Minister, Hon. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa is reported to have vowed that his ministry will punish school heads whose pupils took part in the NPP’s "wↄn gbo" demonstration. According to him, the decision to punish the heads is not to victimise any teacher but to ensure that the “safety of school pupils are secured and guaranteed in the future”. He argues the NPP should have taken along their children to the demonstration if they were interested in having kids participate in the march. But the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) claims the school pupils spontaneously responded to the chants as the demonstrators passed by their schools, thus it was needless for their heads to be punished. Sammy Awuku, who saw nothing wrong with the action by the pupils, wondered if the Ministry would have dealt with any headmaster if their pupils had chanted songs to praise President John Mahama. Contributing to a panel discussion on PeaceFM's "Kokrokoo" programme, he questioned how the head teachers could have controlled the pupils who were said to be on break and had decided to express the frustrations they and their parents are going through as a result of the erratic power cuts. "...some students have had to resort to other unthinkable methods simply to finish their homework in the dark before day breaks and so, their expressions are justifiable," he said. Sammy Awuku therefore cautioned the Ministry, stating that any attempt by the Ministry to "victimize" just one teacher in the country could have negative repercussions for the government. "...this government cannot stand it because the anger that’s boiling at the teachers’ front and within;...you (government)'ve withheld their book and research allowance, you've also scrapped allowance for trainee teachers...let them victimize just one (head). And they will see what happen. They will see the teachers’ reaction," he warned.

Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com