Students demonstrate over death of mate

The death of Master Bernard Aikins, an SHS 3 Building and Construction student of Diabene Senior Technical School in the Western Region, angered the students to stage a massive demonstration against school authorities on Monday morning.

The deceased got drowned in an abandoned quarry pit in the town last Saturday, February 8, 2014, when he went there to fetch water to bath due to lack of water in the school.

The death brings to three the number of students who had drowned in the said pit within a period of three years.

The angry students wore red arm bands and chanted war songs at the school’s premises, sending the head teacher of the school, Mr Debrah Sarpong, into hiding.

However, Mr Sarpong managed to escape to the Regional Police Quarters at Sekondi, where he lodged a complaint.

The police arrived at the school around 1300 hours to calm tempers.

However, two of the demonstrating students, Master Christian Wagah, Form three Business student and Theresa Mensah, Home Economics student, who were alleged to have misbehaved, were arrested and handcuffed.

That incensed the students into rioting, but the timely intervention of the Western Regional Director of Education, Mr Augustus Nii Lante Cleland, Captain (RTD) Anthony Cudjoe, the Mayor of the Sekondi-Takoradi, Mr Jerry Hanson, Board Chairman of the School and some key stakeholders brought the situation under control.

Mr Cleland met the student body and expressed his condolences for the loss of their colleague and pleaded with them to exercise patience since the School's authorities and the Students Representative Council (SRC) had briefed him on their concerns.

He pledged to work expeditiously to resolve the problems confronting the school and observed a minute silence in memory of their departed colleague.

He warned them not to destroy property, but rather use laid down communication channels to address their concerns for amicable settlement.

Some of the concerns raised by the students included lack of water in the school thereby compelling them to fetch water from the nearest town and some abandoned pits thereby endangering their lives.

Others include alleged illegal collection of fees, poor toilet and urinal facilities for students and staff, mistreatment by some teachers of some students.

The protest disrupted classes for the day.

The corpse had since been deposited at the Effia-Nkwanta Hospital morgue for autopsy.