The Upper East Regional Minister, Mark Woyongo, has ordered the closure of Navrongo Senior High School following students' rampage which led to the destruction of school property. The Minister asked the students to leave the campus by 1600 hours on last Tuesday, and to return after two weeks. He also directed the Regional Directorate of Education to constitute a seven- member committee to find out the cause of the rampage and the extent of damage caused. On May 24 and May 25, the students went on a rampage on campus and vandalised louver blades, the Administration Block, staff accommodation, streetlights and electronic gadgets in reaction to a ban on majority of them not to enter the dinning hall late. The students also broke into the senior headmistress’ office and made away with monies and 40 mobile phones that were seized by the school authorities and also destroyed accounting books. They also threatened to attack the tutors. The Police were dispatched to the school to prevent further destruction of property. Assistant Head Master of the School, Mr Sixtus Adikwo, told the Regional Minister that at 2200 hours last week Monday, he heard the students chanting and throwing stones from the headmaster's residence towards the Administration Block. He said he attempted to calm their nerves to no avail and in the process was hit by a stone. Mr Adikwo said the students, who were armed with offensive weapons, also threatened to attack their colleagues who did not take part in the rampage. Sensing danger, Mr Adikwo informed the District Chief Executive Emmanuel Andema, who instructed the Police to intervene. The District Co-ordinating Director, Mr Edward Abazing, said there was a remote cause to the unrest. He added that the Students Representative Council claimed the School Administration did not listen to their grievances, including the poor quality of food served them. The students also complained about the dilapidated nature of the school’s infrastructure, which they said was affecting their academic work as well as the seizure of their mobile phones. The Regional Minister, who addressed the students, said they would bear the cost of the items they had vandalised, warning that gone were the days when people destroyed public property and went free. Mr Woyongo said the culprits would be punished since their grievances should have been channeled through the appropriate channels and not allowed to degenerate into violence. He advised that as future leaders, they should have been disciplined and responsible. The Regional Minister noted that the government was doing everything possible to get the school better infrastructure and to support the facility to celebrate its Golden Jubilee this year. Source: GNA