Savelugu Senior High School Closed Down

The Savelugu Senior High School in the Savelugu/ Nanton District of the Northern Region has been closed down indefinitely, following student disturbances last Saturday that led to damaged to public property. Consequently, all students and teachers are to apply for re-admission and re-engagement into the school to ensure that safety prevail on campus, Mr John Hogbenu, Northern Regional Director of Education has said. He announced the closure in Savelugu on Monday when the Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mustafa Ali Idris and some members of the Regional Security Council visited the school to assess the situation. Mr Hogbenu said teachers and school prefects should stay back to help a nine-member Committee of Enquiry set up to probe the riots. The committee is expected to submit its report in 14 days. Mr Hogbenu said it was unfortunate that in this era when educational authorities were fighting to address lapses in rural education, some recalcitrant students were taking the law into their own hands and destroying school property. Alhaji Idris warned that any tutor or student who would be found culpable by the Committee would not only be dismissed but would be put before court. "Any tutor who is involved in instigating students to riot against school authority does not deserve to belong to the GES and should have his or her name deleted from the GES records," he emphasized. Alhaji Idris said it was incumbent on tutors to leave exemplary lives and to adopt modern tools of engagement to curb any mayhem in schools. The headmaster of the school, Mr Paul Kelly was severely beaten while his bungalow and the school's only truck was damaged during the riots, sparked by students agitation against the refusal of the authorities to allow late night campus entertainment.