Regional News of Tuesday, 24 July 2007

Source: GNA

Daffiama SSS re-opens after a month's closure

Daffiama (UW), July 24, GNA- All the 318 students of Daffiama Secondary School who were sent home on June 26, 2007 for vandalizing school property worth hundreds of new Ghana cedis have been recalled. They have however been made to pay for the damage and to sign a bond to be of good behaviour until they completed their education in the school.

Mr. Cletus S Paaga, Upper West Regional Director of Education told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Wa on Tuesday that each student was surcharged GH=A24.20 to enable the school authorities to replace all damaged property in the school.

He said a committee set up to investigative the cause of the riots has revealed that the students boycotted classes and refused take their meals on the 26th of June this year with the reason that the school authority had purchased inferior entertainment equipment for the school. The Director said the students instead smeared the school building with the food prepared for them and broke all bulbs, lamp holders as well as all the electrical fittings in the school plunging it into total darkness.

"As a result of the disturbances, we had no option, but to close down the school to allow a thorough investigations", he explained. He said they had to re-open to ensure that the innocent ones were not unnecessarily punished for the deeds of others, adding that, punitive measures would be meted out to the leaders of the riots after investigations to serve as a deterrent. "We shall strengthen our monitoring activities to avert the rampant misbehaviour of students in senior secondary schools". He concluded