MR. S.K. APPIAH AND MADAM OFORIWAA AND COL. ADWINI [2009]DLCHRAJ5979

Date	2009-08-28
Suit No.	CHRAJ/469/2008/1102
Citation No.	[2009]DLCHRAJ5979

JOSEPH WHITTAL

[2009]DLCHRAJ5979
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" ><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;
color:#00B050">MR. S.K. APPIAH<o:p></o:p>(COMPLAINANT)<o:p></o:p>AND<o:p></o:p><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;,&quot;serif&quot;;
mso-fareast-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&quot;Book Antiqua&quot;;
color:#00B050">MADAM OFORIWAA AND COL. ADWINI<o:p></o:p>(RESPONDENTS)<o:p></o:p>(CHRAJ)<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.0pt;
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:5.0pt;text-align:justify;mso-pagination:
none;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext .5pt;padding:0in;
mso-padding-alt:31.0pt 31.0pt 1.0pt 31.0pt;mso-border-shadow:yes">CHRAJ/469/2008/1102&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; 28-8-2009<o:p></o:p>

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:5.0pt;text-align:center;
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padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:31.0pt 31.0pt 1.0pt 31.0pt;mso-border-shadow:yes">DECISION<o:p></o:p>

</div>INTRODUCTION<o:p></o:p>In a complaint received on
31st July 2008, the Complainant petitioned the Commission alleging that his six
year old son had been unfairly dismissed from the 5 Garrison Educational Unit
and entreated the Commission to investigate the matter and ensure that the
school was sanctioned appropriately.<o:p></o:p>COMPLAINANT'S
CASE<o:p></o:p>The Complainant stated that Madam Oforiwaa (Headmistress of the
Central Nursery) initially refused to admit his six year old son into the
school because she claimed that he did not obtain the admission form from her.
She however admitted him reluctantly after several pleas. The headmistress,
sometime during in the second term (academic) informed him that his son had
been punished for pulling his penis out and chasing after girls saying that he
will rape them. This came as a surprise to him because his son had never
exhibited such behaviour at home or his former school. After this incident, he
occasionally visited the school with his wife to enquire about the boy's
behaviour.<o:p></o:p>The Complainant furthermore alleged that on the 30th of
June 2008, the headmistress called him on phone and ordered him to report to
her without telling him why she was summoning him. When he reported, he was
shown a cut on the back of the palm of a small girl which she explained was
inflicted by his son. He was informed that his son had been dismissed from the
school because the wounded girl is a daughter of a staff of the school. The
next day, he went with his wife to plead with the head mistress but she
insisted she would not accept the child back. He therefore reported the matter
to Colonel Adwini (the Chief Garrison Educational Officer) who asked him to
come for a meeting the next day (3rd July 2008) to settle the
matter.<o:p></o:p>According to the complainant, at the meeting, Colonel Adwini tried
to intimidate him and said that, the headmistress dismissed his son on his
instructions and no body could stop him, Colonel Adwini turned down his pleas
and left the meeting unceremoniously.<o:p></o:p>He therefore felt that his
son's right to education had been denied him by the headmistress with the
support of Colonel Adwini hence his petition the Commission for redress.<o:p></o:p>RESPONDENTS
CASE<o:p></o:p>On the 9th of October 2008, the Commission received
comments from the Respondents (Col. Adwini and the headmistress of the Central
Nursery). The headmistress indicated in her response that, the Complainant's
son exhibited deviant behaviours such as bullying, inflicting cuts on fellow
pupils, removing his sexual organ and brushing it against the thighs of the
girls sleeping in class. He sometimes run after girls with his genital out
shouting that he would rape them. According to her, all efforts to correct the boy's
behaviour proved futile. In addition to these, he loved playing more than
studying.<o:p></o:p>According to the Respondent,
Several invitations to the Complainant to discuss his son's behaviour were not
honoured. The persistent misconduct of the boy, coupled with the refusal of the
parents to show up in the school compelled her to report the issue to her
superior, Col. Adwini.<o:p></o:p>In his response, Col. Adwini,
stated that when the headmistress narrated her difficulty in getting the
Complainant to discuss his son's conduct, he instructed the headmistress to
tell the Complainant to withdraw his son from the school. The Complainant then
came to his office on the 2nd of July 2008 to report to him that the
headmistress had asked him to withdraw his son. He subsequently invited him to
a meeting with the authorities on the 3rd of July 2008. At the
meeting, the Complainant refused to accept the behaviour of his son but rather
accused the headmistress of hating him and his son from the day she admitted
the boy. He kept retorting angrily that his son did not exhibit such behaviours
at home and will not accept the authorities' claim. It was therefore not true
that his son did what the authorities </main>