Fresh details have emerged that not a single student from the Islamic Senior High School had been involved in an accident on the Abrepo-Barekese highway in the last two years.
This was disclosed by the Ashanti Regional Minister Simon Osei-Mensah during an interaction with staff of the Urban Roads Department in Kumasi Tuesday.
“The initial information that came out that several students have been knocked down by vehicles was false, that information was a lie. We checked back two years, and from Abrepo junction to Kumasi Girls’ Senior high school”, Osei-Mensah said.
The police on June 13, 2022, resorted to the use of tear gas to quell a protest by students of the Islamic Senior High School. At least 38 students sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital after the police attempted to disperse them.
The students were protesting what they said were frequent vehicular knockdowns in front of their school. The IGP Dr George Akuffo Dampare led a delegation to the school to restore calm.
At least seven policemen were interdicted and are still facing service inquiry following the incident.
But Ashanti Regional Minister Simon Osei-Mensah who provided further clarity on the development said, “even though there had been accidents where people were knocked down, not one involved the students, the risk is there but it wasn’t true”.
“A female teacher from the Islamic Senior High School was joining the main road from the school but her car was hit by another vehicle but no student has been knocked down by a vehicle as been rumoured around”, he further clarified.
Meanwhile, authorities have announced that rumble strips would be installed in front of the Islamic Senior High School in two weeks’ time. The Department of Urban Roads explained that rumble strips would precede a Zebra Crossing in front of the school and this will improve safety and protect lives and properties.
SOURCE: DAILY MAIL GH