The Ghana Education Service (GES) has demanded a report on the alleged search into the private parts of about 600 female trainees at the St Louis Training College. The search was said to have been conducted by authorities of the college to ascertain whether any of the female trainees had undergone an abortion, following the discovery of a sanitary pad soaked with blood behind one of the dormitories. Mr Victor Mantey, the acting Director of the Teacher Education Division of the GES, who gave the directive, said in an interview that "I have asked the principal of the college to submit a report on what-exactly took place". The victims, who are mostly first and second year trainees told a section of the media that their private parts were searched by some female teachers at the college's laboratory. They said their panties were removed to find out if any of them was bleeding after which their breasts and stomachs were also examined by the teachers. Mr Mantey, however, said if any of the trainees was suspected of being pregnant or had undergone an abortion, the right thing to do was to take the person to a doctor for examination. Mr Mantey said, "If you suspect that a person is pregnant, you take the person to a medical officer for examination,” adding that for now I want to hear from the horse's own mouth before I can pass judgement." He indicated that once the report was submitted, it would be forwarded to the Ghana Education Service for the necessary action. Meanwhile, the African Co-ordinator of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI};Nana Oye Lithur, who called for a full scale investigation into the matter, described the act as a gross violation of the human rights of the trainees. According to her, the act was an indication of the ignorance of human rights and called for the issue of human rights to be inculcated in the study of education. She stressed the need for the GES to review its disciplinary procedures to ensure that they conform to the laws of the country. Nana Oye Lithur recounted a number of cases in which students rights were violated by teachers and school authorities. She said the removal of the panties of the teacher-trainees and the examination of their breasts and stomachs by the teachers were violations of the trainees' right to pprivacy, health and human dignity as enshrined in the country's constitution. She cited Articles 15, 15(2) and 18 and indicated that if the authorities suspected anything unusual they should have handed over the matter to the police, which had the authority to conduct investigations. "The act on the trainees was unlawful and must be investigated thoroughly," N ana Oye Lithur stated. Source: Daily Graphic