The family of a 16-year-old Ayuburi Girls’ High School student who died on Sunday has called for an independent investigation into the circumstances that led to her death.
Stacy Okyere, a Form 1 student who was admitted just a month ago, died on February 4.
The family claims that the school’s negligence caused their daughter’s death.
“The school killed my child,” Okyere’s father, Kingsley Okyere, told 3News in an exclusive interview.
The accusations have been denied by a highly placed source at Aburi Girls High School. Officials said the young woman did not die inside the school.
Nevertheless, Kingsley Okyere said his daughter, who was also his first child, had no underlying health conditions and hoped the school would provide a more detailed explanation of the circumstances that led to her death. Stated.
Distraught and visibly angry, he claimed that the school should have taken his daughter to the hospital as a first step, but that the school required him to come from home to go to the hospital.
“On Sunday, February 4th, at 8 p.m., I received a call from my daughter’s mistress. She told me that her daughter was sick and that she wanted me to pick her up from the hospital. I thought it was already too late. , I still decided to go. On the way, the woman kept calling almost every 2 minutes and I even felt angry because I thought she would at least send my daughter to the hospital before calling me. ” he told the interview team.
“It took me 34 minutes from Ablekuma to Aburi Joshi. I was once stopped by the police because I was driving at top speed, which later turned out to be an emergency. ”
Mr. Okyere said the check showed that his daughter reported feeling unwell at 12pm, but when she arrived at the school, specifically Edinburg House within the school, she was met with a shocking sight. He said he witnessed it.
“When we arrived at school, my daughter was lying on the floor and her friends were surrounding her. She lost consciousness, while the hostess was sitting on a chair in another room. My wife started screaming and crying. I was so shocked by what I saw that I suddenly felt weak,” he said.
Devastated, Okyere said she rushed her daughter to Thetthe Quarshie Memorial Hospital in Mampong, hoping they would save her.
“I picked my daughter up from the floor and rushed to the car. A friend drove us to Thetthe Quarshie Memorial Hospital in Mampong. I kept blowing air into her mouth to keep her alive.”
But Kingsley Okyere soon realized that it was too late. “When we got to Mampong, I put her on my back. When the doctors looked at her, they found out that she had already died. They didn’t even know how to tell me. , kept sending me all over the place to get cards and make other arrangements for her. And when I got back, they finally stopped her before we even got to the hospital. told me he had passed away. I was devastated.”
Hospital staff confirmed to our team that Stacey Okyere was indeed deceased upon arrival.
This news shocked the whole family. Stacey had no underlying health conditions.
“My daughter has no health problems. If you inquire at her previous school, they will tell you that she rarely gets sick,” Okyere insists.
“The school killed my child, but when the problem arose, they had the courage to sit me down and say they would buy a coffin and arrange for an ambulance. Would you have sent him to school?”
Kofi Asare, executive director of Africa Education Watch, said the incident, which the family said highlighted “symptoms of the weaknesses in health and safety equipment and protocols in schools”.
“Health facilities and protocols do not exist in many schools. Many schools do not have nurses on staff, first aid drugs are a luxury, and there is no documentation from the GES on how to manage health issues. “There are no guidelines in place,” he told 3News.
Although there is no existing protocol, Asare said the practices for how to deal with sick students have always been standard.
“When a student reports feeling unwell, the complaint is passed on to the health director, dormitory director, or hostess, who then escorts the student to a hospital room where first aid is administered and whether the student is sent home or to hospital. ‘A hospital where advice is given,’ he explained.
“Based on the gravity of the situation, the student will be taken to the hospital by the school and the parents will then be informed. Therefore, it is a prerequisite for admission that every child must have a valid NHIS card. It becomes.
“Instead of calling the parents to take the ward to school, we call the parents to let them know that we have taken the ward to the hospital,” he added.
Okyere is particularly angry that the school decided it was unnecessary to take her daughter to the hospital.
“I asked the hostel director why the school had health insurance when my daughter enrolled, because without it she wouldn’t have been able to enroll. So what’s the use of that health insurance? And why couldn’t this woman at least send my child to the hospital? So, if I were in Bole Bamboi, I would have gone to Aburi just to pick up my daughter from the hospital. -Do I have to drive to the girls?”
Efforts to get the school to understand their point were in vain. The vice principal introduced us to the principal, but the principal did not agree to an interview even though the team waited for him for more than three hours. School authorities announced that the principal was absent.
Meanwhile, it has become clear that parents of students at the school have major concerns about health management within the school. This was a topic of discussion at one of the parent-teacher association meetings, where they stated that the large number of students was causing “a great deal of stress on the limited resources of school clinics, and that school clinics were running out of medication.” “There is a shortage and we are now forced to undergo treatment,” he said. Most cases are referred to hospitals. ”
Importantly, parents complained that the school needed additional nurses.