A teacher stationed at Bugubelle in the Sissala East District of the Upper West region has landed himself in trouble for eloping with his underage female pupil with the intent of marrying her.

Marriage through elopement is one of the outmoded customary practices in the Upper West and East regions where victims mostly school girls of between 13 and 18 years old are forcibly removed from school and dragged to their husbands whom they sometimes do not know.

Marriage by abduction is an accepted traditional practice where young girls of school-age are forced into marriage at a tender age and there is no consent between the two parties.

According to Balu Mohammed of Tumu-based Radford Fm, the girl at the centre of the elopement (name withheld) was just about writing her Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) when she was eloped by her own teacher.

“The girl resides in Bichemboi but was eloped to Tasor 7km from Bichemboi by the teacher. Her boyfriend who is an SSS graduate visits the teacher with a machete in the night and after confrontation mercilessly beats up the teacher in his room after forcibly entering the room. A police case was made leading to the arrest of the SSS graduate. Another report was made against the teacher who was beaten for keeping an under-aged girl by relations of the girl and he has also been arrested and kept by the police for alleged elopement”, he explained.