Bright SHS students leave invigilator, Graphic reporter bloodied in lethal attack
Final year students of Bright Senior High School in Akyem Kukurantum, have assaulted an official from the West African Examination Council and a Graphic reporter, Damalie Emmanuel Pacome.
The students holding knives, cutlasses, sticks, and stones chased away the journalist who had visited the school to verify reports of attacks on invigilators by the students.
They reportedly accosted and seized his mobile phone in the school. Sensing danger, the Journalist took to his heels but was pursued for about 15 minutes by the mob of students from the school towards the Kukurantumi township.
Some of the students reportedly jumped on a motorbike to cross the journalist on the way and hit him several times with sticks, seized his bag, and attempted to lynch him but a commercial driver rescued him into his vehicle, Starr FM has reported.
Damalie has head and body injuries.
Posted by Ansah Kojo Ansah on Thursday, August 6, 2020
According to Starr FM’s Eastern Regional Correspondent Kojo Ansah, some of the students were heard saying “We have paid GhC6,000 bribes each. You journalists want us to fail. We will beat you up”.
Background
Some candidates of the ongoing West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination clashed with invigilators at Bright SHS in Akyem Kukurantumi over alleged intimidation.
The swift intervention by armed police personnel from Akyem Tafo and some BNI officials helped restore calm Thursday Morning.
Posted by Ansah Kojo Ansah on Thursday, August 6, 2020
According to the students, they are against the special deployment of external invigilators supervising the examination. They say the invigilators have been very strict, disallowing them to even go out to urinate.
The students say the situation is affecting them psychologically hence they are unable to write the exams.
Meanwhile, there is similar tension building up at Only Believe Senior High Technical School, a private school in Akyem Kukurantumi.
Little over 1,000 candidates are sitting the exams in the school. Some of the students on Wednesday protested strict invigilation of the exams