Akuapem North Member of Parliament (MP), Sammi Awuku, has called on parents of students identified as having participated in the violent clashes between Okuapeman Senior High School (SHS) and Mount Sinai SHS to help foot the bill for repairing the extensive damage caused.

According to him, the destruction has created an unexpected financial burden for the two schools, the Akuapem North Municipal Assembly and other stakeholders, who must now mobilise resources to restore the affected facilities.

Speaking on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, Awuku said the situation was particularly alarming because some of the facilities destroyed during the clashes were dormitories where students sleep.

“Dormitories people sleep in were up in flames, meaning people could have been killed in the middle of the night,” he said.

The MP said restoring the damaged facilities would require a collective effort involving the Municipal Assembly, Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs), his office and other stakeholders.

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However, he believes parents of students found to have taken part in the violence should not be left out of the responsibility.

“The debt that has accrued, as the MP, I have to use part of my Common Fund; the Assembly, the PTA are all supposed to contribute towards the rebuilding. The parents of the students involved in this crime must brace themselves that they are going to contribute because it just doesn’t make sense,” he stated.

Awuku said the financial burden was particularly difficult because the cost of repairing the destruction was not part of the Assembly’s budget for the year or his planned Common Fund commitments.

“The situation is worrying. This is not part of the Assembly’s plans for the year or even as the MP’s Common Fund,” he said.

Beyond government and the affected communities, Awuku has also appealed to old students of Okuapeman SHS and Mount Sinai SHS to support efforts to rebuild the schools.

He said such support would demonstrate a sense of responsibility towards the institutions and help ensure that students can return to safe and habitable learning environments.

“I will appeal to the old students of both schools to come on board and help show responsibility and commitment,” he said.

The MP stressed that the restoration of the damaged facilities could not be delayed because students would soon have to return to campus.

“Because these students are coming back, but we don’t even have facilities to house them. So we must do all that before they resume,” he added.

Awuku described the level of destruction as shocking, particularly because of the potential consequences for students who were in the schools when the violence occurred.

“The scale of destruction to properties is unimaginable,” Awuku said.

He said the priority now must be to restore the damaged facilities while ensuring that measures are put in place to prevent a recurrence of the clashes.

NA/BAI