A 15-year-old Junior High School (JHS) 2 female student of Assin Krofofrodo D/A Basic School in the Assin North District has allegedly inflicted cutlass wounds on a male JHS 1 schoolmate after accusing him of repeatedly touching her breasts during a school clean-up exercise.

The incident occurred on Thursday, July 2, after students had completed a campus sanitation exercise during which they had been issued cutlasses to weed the overgrown school compound.

According to the girl's account, the male student repeatedly touched her breasts while they worked together. She alleged that despite several warnings for him to stop, he continued the behaviour, prompting her to slash him on the inner wrist with a cutlass.

The victim sustained deep wounds and bled profusely before he was rushed for medical treatment.

However, conflicting accounts have emerged over how the injured student was assisted after the incident.

The family of the victim has accused school authorities of negligence, alleging that teachers failed to immediately send the boy to hospital despite the seriousness of his injuries.

According to the family, the student was left bleeding until a relative returned from the farm and took him to seek medical attention.

Speaking on behalf of the family, the victim's elder sister, Joyce Enyan, called for a thorough investigation into both the incident and the conduct of the school authorities.

But the Ghana Education Service has rejected the allegations of negligence.

In an interview, the Assin North District Public Relations Officer of the GES, Grace Ocran, explained that the incident occurred at about 4 p.m., nearly an hour after school had officially closed at 3 p.m.

She said the headmaster was absent at the time because he had attended an official meeting, while almost all teachers had already left the school.

According to her, only one teacher happened to remain on campus to mark students' scripts when other students alerted him to the incident. She said the teacher immediately abandoned his work, rushed to the scene and transported the injured student to a nearby Community-based Health Planning and Services compound, where he received first aid before being referred to St. Francis Xavier Hospital for further treatment.

"The student has since been treated and discharged," she said.

Mrs Ocran maintained that the teacher acted promptly under the circumstances and insisted that it was unfair to accuse the school of negligence.

"We were rather fortunate that a teacher was still on the school premises. Had he also left after school closed, the situation could have been much worse," she stated.

She said officers from the GES and the School Improvement Support Officer had directed the teacher who witnessed the incident to submit a detailed report, while the headmaster, who was away on official assignment, was also preparing his report for the District Directorate.

Mrs Ocran added that investigations into the incident were ongoing and that the findings would determine responsibility, including who would bear the cost of the victim's medical treatment.

"We will allow the investigations to establish the facts, and based on the outcome, a decision will be taken on who should pay the hospital bills," she said.

She further indicated that the situation was now under control and that the GES was monitoring the matter to ensure it was resolved appropriately.

The incident has nevertheless raised concerns among parents and residents over student safety during school activities and the need for closer supervision of learners, particularly when potentially dangerous tools are used.