Five final-year students of Okuapemman Secondary School at Akropong-Akwapem in the Eastern Region have been dismissed for occult practices and sexual misconduct. Enoch Adu, Richard Antwi, Joshua Okai and Stephen Ofori were dismissed for occult practices, while Kelvin Yakah was dismissed for sexual misconduct last term.

According to the school authorities, Adu, Antwi, Okai and Ofori, were caught burning bundles of candles wrapped with a piece of paper bearing the name of the headmaster and pierced with needles amidst chanting. A source at the school told the Times newspaper that, the students admitted their guilt and explained that the ritual was meant to invoke the spirits to "soften" the heart and mind of the headmaster in dealing with matters concerning dismissal of indisciplined students from the school and his way of enforcing discipline.

Yakah was allegedly caught red-handed having sexual intercourse with a female student of another school in the locality in one of the classrooms.The Headmaster, E. Ofosu Boateng, confirmed the dismissals when contacted and said the students would not be allowed to write this year’s West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

"In accordance with the Ghana Education Service (GES) rules and regulations, dismissed final-year students automatically forfeit their candidature to write the examination," he explained.Mr. Boateng further said that with their dismissals, the students cease being students of the school and, as a result, their registration with the school for the WASSCE nullified.

He stated that the school would not condone any act of indiscipline and warned that students, particularly those in the final year, who misconduct themselves would be sanctioned depending on the severity of offences committed."The school authorities take very serious view of the conduct of the final year students, who have registered for the final examination, use that as a license to misbehave,” Mr Boateng said. We hope the GES will give full support to school authorities in dealing with acts of blatant indiscipline and gross insubordination among students as a measure to halt the spate of indiscipline," he added.