Education Minister Orders Immediate Interdiction of Obuasi SHS Principal and Demands Police CID Probe.

Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu has directed an immediate suspension of Zakaria Abdulai, the Headmaster of Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS), after harsh allegations of sexual misconduct. The orders were given on October 13, 2026, according to a directive report by JoyNews and celebrated investigative journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni.

The report, which has yet to be aired at the time of this publication, exposed a string of sexual harassment cases involving a female student at the headmaster’s bungalow. An official statement from the Ministry of Education recalled that the Minister saw the matter as highly sensitive. The ministry acted swiftly on the information given and asked the country’s Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) to take the necessary disciplinary action against the senior headmaster.

Mr. Abdulai’s immediate suspension from his position was the move to ensure he does not impede the ongoing investigations into the allegations.

The Ministry of Education has directed the heads of schools to submit reports on any form of sexual exploitation, harassment, or assault in educational institutions nationwide. Simultaneously, the authorities responsible for the country’s security and judiciary system have been deployed to prosecute the matter.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters of the Ghana Police Service has been asked to press charges against the headmaster concerning the sex allegations. Besides sanctioning the respondent teacher through the education sector’s machinery, the authorities are determined to prosecute him through the country’s legal system.

According to the Ghana Education Service (GES), the school faced massive student unrest as pupils staged a violent protest. The students allegedly went on a rampage wreaking huge destruction in the school’s management compound. The administration was forced to close the school temporarily for security reasons.

The GES suspended the headmaster following the Minister’s directive. Mr. Abdulai has been directed to leave the management of Obuasi Senior Technical School to the Ashanti Regional Director of Education. He is also expected to cooperate fully with the police and internal education panel investigations.

The Ministry of Education’s official statement, signed by the Press Secretary, Hashmin Mohammed, condemned the sexual exploitation allegations involving a minor.

The management asserted that Ghanaian schools were meant to be safe and secure places for the intellectual development of the country’s youths. The schools’ management recalled that the public entrusted children in the hands of teachers and heads of institutions. It said, therefore, that exploitation and abuse of the entrusted pupils and students were not tolerated.

The statement noted that it was the responsibility of the heads of schools and teachers to protect their wards and not take advantage of them.

Any staff member found guilty of such exploitation would face the full wrath of the law and be deregistered.

While the ministry and police investigation teams probe the allegations levelled against Mr. Abdulai, authorities said the accusations were yet to be proven. His suspension was a step to allow the police CID and GES panel investigations to proceed without his hindrance. Awaiting the results of these probes, the headmaster’s fate will be determined.