Sexual Harassment at Akro Sectech – Female Students Drop Names of ‘Romeo’ Teachers

Some female students of the Akro Secondary Technical School in Odumase – Krobo in the Eastern region have been revealing names of ‘Romeo’ male teachers whom they accuse of making their stay on campus a living hell.

The students revealed the names in an interview with Rite news which bordered on several allegations of sexual harassment against their male teachers.

According to the students, they are unable to concentrate on their studies and are even forced to avoid classes to avoid punishments from teachers whose proposals they have turned down.

Authorities of the Ghana Education Office in Manya Krobo on Tuesday visited the school on a fact finding mission as part of investigations into the allegations.

Ghana’s Teachers’ Code of Conduct explicitly warn teachers against any form of sexual engagements with students:

It says: ‘No teacher shall directly or indirectly do anything that may constitute sexual harassment of a pupil/student.’ ‘Any teacher who has carnal knowledge of any female or male pupil/student of any age, with or without his or her consent, shall be guilty of professional misconduct.’ ‘No teacher shall have any carnal knowledge of any pupil/student in his/her own school or in any educational institution with or without his/her consent,’ the code stipulates.

The revelations of the students come in the wake of several allegations raised in a letter purportedly issued by the Students’ Representative Council of the school calling on the school authorities and various stakeholders in the educational sector to intervene and call the offending teachers to order.

One of the girls told Rite news that several male teachers have approached her with love proposals, all of which she turned down to the chagrin of her pursuers.

According to her, the situation has turned her teachers against her where these teachers abused her on very flimsy issues.

“I have been sexually harassed by about 5 male teachers. Whenever they propose to me and I refuse their advances, they beat me as if I am an animal. As I am talking with you now, I have marks on my body to prove it,” the exasperated student told Rite news.

The student who went ahead to disclose names of the immoral teachers called on educational directors to come to their aid.

Another female student said, “I have been harassed severally by my teacher (name withheld).” She corroborated the earlier assertion that teachers who are turned down by the girls are unnecessarily victimized. “The teachers have this thing that they do; if they propose to you and you don’t accept and they come to class, they will always find ways and means to punish you,” she disclosed.

Female students who agree to engage in amorous relationships with their teachers, as she disclosed are rewarded with examination questions ahead of internal examinations.

“If you accept the proposals of the teachers, then that means you would get questions from them for exams so it goes against those who prepare well for the examinations,” she narrated.

Meanwhile, particular names ran through the disclosures of the students. What the students want now is various women’s groups and the government to come to their rescue by removing the said teachers from the school.

“Please we are pleading with you, if you don’t come to our aid in this school, what we are going to do might cause something else,” she pleaded.

Another simply said, “Please come to our aid, we are tired,”

Sexual harassment of girls is rife in schools but goes largely unreported and unaddressed, with many teachers ill-equipped to tackle the problem, research has found.

A good number of girls in mixed secondary schools and girls schools have been sexually harassed while at school and another group have been subjected to unwanted physical touching of a sexual nature.

The use of sexist, misogynist language is also widespread with a number of female students complaining they have either experienced or witnessed the use of sexist language in schools.

The problem is so commonplace, that students generally do not report it. Just a relatively smaller number of those who experienced sexual harassment told a higher authority.

Source: ritefmonline.org