Public Relations Officer of the Bright Senior High School, Isaac Asare has said that the recent attacks on a journalist by final year students of the school during the West African Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) was done on the blind side of school authorities.
In an interview with Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show, he related that at the time of the attack, school authorities were at the police station, dealing with an earlier attack on some West African Examination Council (WAEC) officials and security personnel by the students.
“On the 6th of August when the students wrote social studies, the attention of authorities was drawn to the chaos around a section of the school. The school authorities rushed to the scene to enquire about what had ensued.
When we got to the entrance of the premises, some security personnel brought in by WAEC were stationed at the place who didn’t allow the school head into the premises. This made him return to his office. After this, the chaos got worse to the extent that when the authorities got there one WAEC official and two other security officials were abused.
Then, the school authorities, including the proprietor, myself and the headmaster went to the police station to report the issue together with the WAEC officials. So while at the police station, we had the information that a journalist had been to the school to cover the situation while we were away. The children caught sight of him while he was taking pictures and went after him to assault him. All these things happened when school authorities or teachers were not present at the school”, he narrated.
While Isaac claimed that the school authorities are not privy to the cause of the confusion between the students and the officials, news circulating states that the students got infuriated after the external invigilator resisted their attempts to engage in exams malpractices.
On 7th August 2020, the Daily Graphic reported that “the proprietor of the Bright Senior High School at Kukurantumi in the Eastern Region, Bright Amponsah has been arrested for instigating an attack on an invigilator and a reporter with the Daily Graphic”.
The news platform furthered that the final year students went on the rampage on Thursday and beat an external invigilator as well as a reporter with the Daily Graphic.
By: Alberta Dorcas N D Armah