School proprietress, teacher arrested for detaining pupils

The proprietress of Bacnof International School at Gausu Extension, a suburb of Obuasi, and a teacher of the same school were arrested and granted bail last Thursday for allegedly detaining two pupils of the school because they owed school fees.

The proprietress, Ms Naa Afia Tsikata, and the teacher, Mr Ebenezer Osei, were arrested by the Obuasi Divisional Police Command and presented with a charge of assault by imprisonment for allegedly detaining the two pupils aged six and eight for owing school fees.

Bail

The Obuasi District Police Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police, (DSP) Mr Martin Asenso, who confirmed the incident to the Daily Graphic, said the suspects had been granted police enquiry bail to report to the police on Monday, March 9, 2020.

Mr Asenso said the police would investigate the issue and take the appropriate action but he would not say if the suspects would be put before court soon.

Detention

The proprietress is alleged to have detained the pupils after school closed at 4p.m. till about 8:20 p.m. when they were rescued by the police.

A source that spoke to the police said someone living close to the school picked information that the children were not allowed to go home after school and had been detained on the orders of the proprietress in the hope to extract the fees they owed from their parents when they came for them.

Whistle-blower

The whistle-blower went to the police station at about 7:30 p.m. to report the incident when he could no longer bear the situation. The two pupils are said to jointly owe the school GH¢1,216.

The source said the police subsequently dispatched a team to the school and found the two pupils locked in one of the classrooms.

The pupils have since been reunited with their parents while the proprietress and the teacher await their fate.