Sandema SHTS shut down over riot, death of student

Authorities of the Sandema Senior High Technical School in the Builsa North District of the Upper East Region have temporarily closed down the school today after rioting students rejected breakfast prepared for 986 boarders this morning.

The school was shut down at midday and students were asked to leave campus following a District Security Council (DISEC) meeting earlier today.

A clash erupted among students on campus around midnight on Tuesday after some students refused to comply with an order to go to bed by the school’s cadet corps.

Vehicles and houses were torched in the disturbances whilst some students sustained machete wounds during the chaos.

A student died from gunshot wounds and another, a girl, collapsed as police officers fired warning shots to restore calm.

The District Chief Executive of the area David Afoko who visited the school following the riots announced the closure of the school.

He said students have been given three weeks to return to school.

He added that a five-member committee will be set up to look into the issues surrounding the chaos.

The committee, he continued, will have representatives from the board of directors of the school, security services, the district assembly and the Ghana Education Service.

"The DISEC will set up a five-member committee. We are giving the committee three weeks to come up with a report. We have therefore given the students two weeks to come back. They will be reporting on the 30th of this month,” the DCE said in a telephone conversation.