Calm has returned to Bolgatanga Technical Institute campus, in the Bolgatanga Municipality of the Upper East Region, two days, after their peaceful march for justice and attention from the Regional Education Authority, resulted in a fierce confrontation with some personnel of the Ghana Police Service.
However, many students are yet to get out of the horrifying experience at the hands of some impatient young Police Officers, while others are still living with body pains as a result of the needless beatings by these young Police Officers.
Meanwhile, the 16 students that were reported to have been arrested by the Police, have been released from Police Custody.
On Friday November 30, at about 8:00am, what was intended to be a peaceful demonstration by students of Bolgatanga Technical Institute turned chaotic, when the Police arrested some students as they and their colleagues marched towards the Regional Education Office to demand for some answers from the Regional Education Director and their Acting Principal, Augustine Ayirezang.
They had answers to their questions over why the school had no water running through the taps for over two months, no toilet facilities, no ID Cards for final year students even though they had paid for the card since they were in Form One.
They were also told why the school, since May 2018 has not had a substantive Principal, after the then Principal, Mr. Thomas Amaare retired in April 2018.
The students complained about the arrest of some of their colleagues and they were asked to go back to their school, while the Regional Education Director, sees to the release of the students arrested.
While marching back to their campus, eyewitnesses say, the Police resurfaced and arrested more, claiming that those students were leading an illegal “demonstration”.
The students got infuriated and misconduct themselves leading to the arrest on many more students, bringing the number to 16.
The remaining students marched to the Bolgatanga Municipal Police Station in their numbers and in an attempt by the Police to get them off Police Station’s premise with warning shots, the students replied with stones, thereby causing the Police to descend heavily on them, beating them mercilessly to batons.
It is believed that, the students’ retaliation caused some damage to parts the official vehicle of Deputy Upper East Regional Police Commander, ACP Paul Ayittey.
This is the third time students the Bolgatanga Technical Institute have been in the news for a wrong reason since 2015.
Source: a1radioonline.com / Samuel Mbura / Ghana
