WUSUTA TEACHERS TAKE FRENCH LEAVE ...After female colleagues had been dubbed (PAGE 40)

Story: Tim Dzamboe, Ho

A female teacher at the Evangelical Presbyterian Primary School at Wusuta in the Kpando District, Miss Mary Gidisu, was clubbed by an unknown person when she was taking her bath around 8 p.m. last week Monday.
She fell unconscious and was rushed to the Hohoe Government Hospital where she was said to be responding to treatment.
The situation has created fear and panic among teachers in the town resulting in the closure of schools.
Following petitions sent to the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), the EP Educational Unit, the Kpando District Directorate of the Ghana Education Service (GES), a series of emergency meetings have been held with the teachers and traditional authorities, elders, a section of the youth, parent-teacher associations (PTAs) and school management committees (SMCs) to resolve the impasse amicably.
Prior to the attack on the lady teacher, it was alleged that some citizens of the town had been making derogatory remarks about the teachers, threatening their lives, defecating and displaying charms in classrooms and stealing property belonging to the teachers.
These unfortunate deeds have demoralised teachers and prevented them from entering the classrooms to teach, resulting in the closure of all the six primary schools in the town since last week.
Addressing a meeting last Wednesday, the chief of the town, Togbe Honu Letsa IV, disclosed that measures had been put in place to ensure the safety of the headteachers and teachers, adding that security lights would be installed on school campuses in addition to the engagement of watchmen to check loitering around the classrooms in the night.
He appealed to the officials to impress upon the teachers to exercise restraint, saying “our community is at the crossroads and we plead that nothing is done to jeopardise the education of the children”.
An elder and opinion leader of the town, Mr Seth Atigah, said a series of meetings had been held with the teachers to find a solution to the unfortunate situation but this had not yielded any result and promised that the leaders of the community would not countenance the unlawful acts.
The Regional Secretary of GNAT, Nana Pobee Asomaning Darko, condemned the acts, and stressed the need to tackle the issue collectively and professionally while sympathising with school heads and teachers.
He appealed to the teachers to abandon their intended actions and go about their normal duties while the traditional authorities, elders and the police conducted investigations into the matter.
The Kpando District Director of the GES, Mr E.K. Keteku, cautioned the teachers on implications of whatever action they took in order not to incur the displeasure of sympathisers and their employers.
For his part, the Regional Manager of E.P. Schools, Mr E.K. Dzikunu, asked the teachers to have confidence in the leadership of the community, show considerable remorse and return to the classroom to complete the academic calendar for the term.
He said the education of the children and safety of teachers were equally important.