Authorities of Achimota Senior High School have expressed concerns about the safety of the students due to the activities of encroachers on the school’s land.
According to them, the students live in constant fear due to the activities of the squatters, who have taken over sections of the school’s land.
[contextly_sidebar id=”LXoSbqyOZCcoYgmCbTJLNXasP7rSrxnq”]Achimota School has been in an unending struggle with private developers, squatters and the Osu Traditional Council over control of parts of the school’s land.
This has resulted in the school heading to the Supreme Court in an attempt to reinstate an injunction secured on the activities of the encroachers.
But in the meantime, students have had to contend with landguards and squatters who threaten their safety.
In the 2016/2017 academic year, five murders were recorded on the school’s premises, whilst the school’s headmistress, Beatrice Adom, stated at the time that prayer groups and beggars had also encroached on the school’s land
The school had sought to allay some of the fears at the time, stating that officials of the BNI had come to the school to assess the situation.
However, the assistant headteacher of the school, Ken Amankwah, admitted that the current security situation at the school was dire, with the students being exposed to all kinds of dangers.
“The students are not safe. At the moment, the western part is being encroached seriously. Somebody is walling the place and taking some of the buildings. We reported to the Board about those issues and the students’ safety is very bad now,” he said whilst addressing a news conference.
“About two weeks ago, after dining, somebody knocked a student [down] with their car. We had to go to the police station, take the student to the hospital and called the parents to come in. At the moment it’s very serious.“
To the Supreme Court
The long-running dispute with the Osu Traditional Council over the lands began dates back to 2011 when some lands belonging to the school were ‘repossessed.’
The Council had taken possession of the lands arguing that, they were not being used for the purposes they were intended for.
However, the Board of the school, with the support of the school’s Old Students Association, secured the injunction and declared their intention to retain their land through all lawful means.
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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana