Tension still mounting in Wa Secondary School

About 300 orthodox Muslim students of Wa Secondary School have packed bag and baggage and left the school in solidarity with their 14 colleagues, who had been arrested for allegedly burning down a tutor's bungalow and vandalising school property.

The students have also threatened to maltreat other Muslim students still staying in the school and would vandalise more school property if their colleagues were not released.

Mr Moses Donneyong, Headmaster of the school, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview at Wa on Thursday that classes were, however, going on for the remaining students.

"The school has been thrown into a state of insecurity as the tutors have also started packing their belonging to relatives in the Wa town for fear of vandalism." Mr Donneyong, therefore, called on the Police and other security agencies to step up their patrolling activities at the campus.

Mr Donneyong said students, who had voluntarily left the school were misinforming people in town that the school authorities were discriminating against Muslim students. "How can we work against Islam when a chunk of our staff are Muslims" the Headmaster asked.

He said he was consulting the Regional Director of Education and other relevant authorities to find out the next line of action. He, however, emphasised that the arrest of the boys was purely based on indiscipline and not on religious grounds as being peddled by a section of the students.

The 14 students were arrested on Monday for allegedly burning down a tutor's bungalow and a motorbike. They were also alleged to have vandalised the administration block and a wooden truck. Later in an interview, Mr Jacob Bangonluri, Regional Director of Education, said officials were working round the clock to bring calm to the school.