From books to blows: Violence escalates among SHS final-year students

Violence is fast becoming a dangerous norm in Ghana’s Senior High Schools (SHS), with final-year students at the centre of a growing wave of chaos.

Reports from various schools across the country point to an alarming pattern of violent clashes, including stabbings, physical assaults on teachers and peers, and destruction of property.

In some instances, minor disagreements have escalated into full-blown brawls, leaving injuries and death in their wake and causing significant damage to school property.

What was once a space for academic growth is now, in some cases, turning into a battlefield.

Stakeholders say the root causes of these violent behaviours range from unchecked access to weapons and weak disciplinary systems to peer pressure and a deepening sense of frustration among the youth.

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Additionally, social media, which often glorifies violence, may also play a role in normalising aggression among students.

In this story, The Ghana Report highlights some recent violent incidents in SHSs that are still fresh in memory.

• Final-year student stabbed to death by friend

A 17-year-old Kwasi Awuah Gorman, a final-year student at St. Joseph Technical Institute, was recently stabbed by his friend, identified as Stephen, known by colleagues as “Sugar”.

The tragic incident allegedly occurred during an altercation reportedly stemming from a money dispute. The unfortunate incident occurred in July 2025.

The tragedy has left family members and students of St. Joseph Technical Institute heartbroken and urgently calling for justice for the talented young man.

In response, the police have arrested the suspect.

• Violent clash at Zuarungu SHS over phone theft

The Upper East Regional Minister, Donatus Akamugri Atanga, recently ordered the immediate closure of Zuarungu Senior High School following violent clashes on Sunday, July 20, 2025, involving students from Gurune and Kusasi.

The alleged theft of a mobile phone reportedly triggered the violent clash.

What began as a dispute quickly escalated into a serious confrontation, destroying school property and increasing tensions throughout the campus. Four students were immediately arrested after the incident.

However, one suspect managed to escape while being transported to the police station, reportedly taking a police officer’s weapon during the escape.

In light of potential retaliation, a coordinated team of police and military personnel were deployed to escort students from Bawku back to their communities securely.

• Another final-year student stabbed over a phone video dispute

A final-year student at Wa T.I. Ahmadiyya Senior High School (Wa Amass) was brutally stabbed on July 22, 2025, during a confrontation with a colleague on campus.

According to eyewitnesses, the altercation stemmed from a heated dispute between two final-year students: Iddrisu Ibrahim, known as Lincoln, and Hafis, referred to as Baayaawa.

Lincoln, an Agricultural Science student from Bulenga, allegedly filmed Hafis without his consent.

When Hafis, a General Arts student from Bawku, found out, he confronted Lincoln and insisted that the video be deleted.

After Lincoln reportedly refused, Hafis threatened to stab him. Lincoln is said to have dismissed the threat, challenging Hafis to act on it.

Things escalated quickly as Hafis allegedly produced a knife, stabbing Lincoln in the rib and stomach area. Following the attack, Hafis attempted to flee, but word of the incident spread rapidly across the campus.

In response, a group of students gathered, seemingly looking to retaliate, but law enforcement arrived promptly to defuse the situation. Hafis was arrested and taken into custody for further questioning.

• Three Form 3 Students Assault Form 1 Student

In February 2025, a viral video which went viral on social media captured an Accra Academy student flogging a colleague with a cutlass.

In response, the school administration issued a statement addressing the incident, assuring parents and guardians that it is being taken very seriously.

“It is understandable that this incident has caused alarm and worry among our parents and guardians, and we want to assure you that we take this matter very seriously,” the statement read

The video, which caused alarm, shows what appears to be a violent altercation between several students.

According to the management of the school, the incident occurred on January 17, 2025.

According to the statement, it was not until the video surfaced on social media that the victims reported the event to the school authorities.

The school identified the perpetrators as three Form Three students and the victim as a Form One student, all males.

• One student was stabbed as police arrested 20 Salaga SHS students over a violent clash

Twenty Salaga Senior High School students in the East Gonja Municipality of the Savannah Region, 17 of whom are final-year students, were arrested following a violent altercation that left one person with multiple stab wounds in February 2025.

The brawl, described as a chaotic free-for-all fight, created unrest on campus, prompting a swift response from law enforcement.

During the operation, police recovered a locally manufactured pistol and a round of ammunition from the scene.

• O’Reilly student stabs colleague to death

A final-year student at O’Reilly Senior High School in Accra on Monday, September 2, 2024, stabbed another student to death following an argument.

The victim, identified by his family as 18-year-old Edward Borketey Sackey, was a final-year Visual Arts student.

The incident happened after they sat for an examination.

The altercation reportedly began as a heated exchange over who was wealthier, escalating into a physical fight.

According to a cousin of the deceased, who is also a student at the school, the fight initially seemed trivial but later resulted in the fatality.

• Teacher loses eye after brutal attack by student

A student of the Asuoso Senior High School at Offinso in the Ashanti Region stabbed his teacher in the left eye in December 2024.

A confrontation ensued between the two after the teacher, Ishmael Famous, asked the loitering student to return to his classroom.

He then stabbed Famous, causing him to lose his eye.

• Ghanata SHS student stabbed in brutal attack

A student of Ghanata Senior High School was critically injured after he was violently attacked and stabbed with a knife by assailants from Dodowa town, where the school is located.

The incident happened on Tuesday, August 13, 2024, at the blind side of school authorities.

The mastermind of the bloody attack is a student who was de-bordenized for committing an offence in the school.

Subsequently, the de-bordenized student, who wasn’t happy about the decision of the school authorities, snuck into the boys’ dormitory to steal the victim’s slippers because he believed the victim played a role in his expulsion from the boarding house.

He was caught and ordered to return the slippers.

Unhappy with the situation, the de-bordenized student organised boys from the Dodowa town to help him punish the victim again.

The “town boys” infiltrated the school on Tuesday evening during prep time and eventually located the victim, who was learning at the school’s dining hall.

They immediately pounced on him and stabbed him mercilessly, leaving him with deep wounds on his back.

The suspect was subsequently arrested.