Student Death: Develop case management protocols for sick students

Eduwatch Africa, a non-governmental organisation with focus on education, has asked the Ghana Education Service (GES) to liaise with the Ghana Health Service (GHS) to develop a case management protocol for sick students in secondary schools. The NGO said the implementation of the protocols should be mainstreamed into indicators for supervision by the school improvement and support officers and the key performance indicators of school heads. That, the Organisation said, would help deal with health emergencies and avoid any untoward situations in schools. On Wednesday, February 7, 2024, Stacey Okyere, a first-year student at Aburi Girls Senior High School, died after a short illness. According to sources, the student was sick, refused an exeat to go home for treatment, and was kept in the School until her parents arrived to take her to a hospital, allegedly. Unfortunately, she died upon arrival at the Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital, located a few kilometres from Aburi Girls SHS. Mr Kofi Asare, the Exec utive Director, Eduwatch Africa, in an interview on the death of the student, called on the Parent Associations and Old Students to be interested in the state and functioning of health facilities in their schools. He urged GES to ensure that sick bays had the required drugs, competent personnel, and basic facilities to function under the National Health Insurance Scheme to avoid deaths in schools. Mr Asare expressed worry about the situation and noted that the unfortunate event at Aburi Girls SHS was not the first. 'Since 2017, there have been at least four widely reported deaths in secondary schools resulting from the wrongful exercise of discretion by school authorities in refusing to allow sick students to either seek treatment at home or send them to hospitals for treatment,' he said. He said from October 2017 to 2013, secondary schools that witnessed student deaths included Bolga SHS, St. Monica SHS, Afia Kobi Girls' SHS, and Dwamena Akenten SHS. Sadly, the Executive Director said in many instances, the response of the school authorities was usually to deny complicity, rather than initiate meaningful reforms of the health management systems in Senior High Schools. He said Ghana was the only country operating a public boarding secondary education system, with over one million students in boarding houses. Mr Kofi said it was important to prioritise the delivery of primary healthcare in schools and strengthen the referral systems. The Management of Ghana Education Service had extended its deepest condolence to the family of the late Stacy Okyere. It said an internal investigation was ongoing, and that management of GES was working with the law enforcement agencies to independently investigate the matter. In a release, the GES said its leadership had deployed a nine-member team of counsellors to beef up the Guidance and Counseling Department of the school to provide psychosocial support for the students and staff. Source: Ghana News Agency