Two students of Wa Technical Institute are currently in police custody for allegedly assaulting a housemaster and another student. 

One of them, 19 year-old Yussif Mudasshir is said to have been reproached by the housemaster for dressing improperly.

According to the housemaster, Israel Musah Frinko, the student had agreed to change his attire but later resisted.

 “I approached him and asked him to go and change like a normal student and he agreed, after he entered the yard he was resisting, so I held his shirt and asked him to hurry up and not waste my time.”

“And all he said was he didn’t like what I was doing and I replied that I’m only asking you to go and change, then we were walking on the pavement blocks when he went to the unpaved floor, I never knew his intention.”

“He bent down and got up and he just hit me with a stone, I feel pain and blood was oozing from my ear and my nose, so from there, we sent him to the master in charge of discipline,” he explained.

The second student is reported to be an accomplice and a bosom friend of Yussif Mudasshir who also came to the scene when the incident happened.

According to JoyNews sources, Yussif’s friend was resisting arrest and while doing that, he used a pair of scissors to injure one of the students.

Teachers of the institution have since decided to boycott examination invigilation, saying that the school environment has become unsafe and demand the expulsion of the two students.

 In a related development, bullying is said to be a leading cause of suicide and other mental health challenges in students, according to a UNESCO report published in 2019.

The report reveals that Sub-Saharan Africa leads with the highest rate of bullying in schools globally with a rate of 48.2%.

The impact on victims, according to the report, is grievous. It ranges from serious health and educational implications.

The report highlights a significant disparity in mental health and behavioural risk between bullied students and those who are not.

According to the findings, students who experience bullying are more susceptible to various adverse effects.

They are 18.3% more likely to experience feelings of loneliness, 23.4% more prone to attempting suicide, 19.7% more inclined to use tobacco, 30.3% more at risk of alcohol abuse, 7.9% more likely to use marijuana, and 27.4% more likely to engage in early sexual activity.

Regarding the educational impact, the report reveals that bullied students face severe consequences. They are 44.5% more likely to discontinue their education at the secondary level, often feeling excluded from school activities.

Additionally, they exhibit 63.9% more anxiety when taking tests, even if they are adequately prepared, leading to a higher likelihood of academic failure regardless of their effort to study.

The report recommends that a legislation is put in place to safeguard the rights of children and to underpin policies to prevent and respond to school violence and bullying.

It also recommends training and support for teachers to prevent and respond to school violence and bullying.

It also encourages the establishment of children-sensitive reporting, complaint and counselling mechanisms and restorative approaches.

Member of the Psychologists Association of Ghana, Dr Collins Badu Agyemang is backing these recommendations. He spoke on the Super Morning Show earlier

 “We need to provide help for these ones who have psychological emergencies, they need help to be able to cope well, process well, deal with the setbacks that they may have rocked their world.”

“So children especially adolescents may not have all the strengths to be able to cope with the many challenges they’ll be facing, it’s the most adjustive period in life, they meet new friends, new experiences.”

“And as parents, we add to it, we’re always focused on their academics in school and overlook their mental health,” he indicated.