The Member of Parliament for Tamale Central and former Majority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, has reacted to viral videos of a toilet being turned into an accommodation facility in one of the schools in his constituency, the Ghana Senior High School (GHANASCO).

The MP, in a statement sighted by GhanaWeb, said that the imagery showed in the videos are sad and unacceptable, if true.

He added that he supports the investigation started by the Ghana Education Service (GES) in the matter.

“The conditions in the purported video, if true, are unfortunate and disappointing. I, therefore, support the decision by the Ghana Education Service (GES) to institute an independent enquiry into the matter in order to give assurance to parents and the general public about the safety and wellbeing of students of the school,” parts of the statement read.

The MP, however, urged the government to ensure that the school has all its needs to function, as it continues its investigation.

“I shall be visiting the School as Member of Parliament for the Tamale South Constituency, to ascertain things for myself,” he added.

Background:

The Member of Parliament for Builsa South, Dr Clement Apaak, shared a video alleged to be a shot of a toilet facility of GHANASCO turned into a sleeping place for students.

The said video, which has been sighted by GhanaWeb, showed student mattresses, chop boxes, bags and other student materials in the toilet compartment of a washroom.

Some of the materials and the students could also be seen in the hallway of the washroom.



In another video shared by the MP, a form one student named Godlove confirmed that he is one of the students sleeping in the toilet-turned-dormitory due to a lack of student housing.

He said that the students have now resorted to open defecation, which has led to a health crisis in the school with students always falling sick.

Subsequently, the GES temporarily suspended the headmaster and senior housemaster of GHANASCO.



According to GES, the school turning a toilet into an accommodation facility is unacceptable since records indicate that the school is supposed to have excess accommodation capacity for 300 students.

In a statement issued on Sunday, April 16, 2023, the GES indicated that the headmaster and the housemaster have been suspended pending an investigation into the matter, which is expected to last two weeks.

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