The death of Master Bernard Aikins, a SHS three Building and Construction student of Diabene Senior Technical School in the Western Region angered the students to stage a massive demonstrate against the school authorities on Monday morning.
The deceased got drown in an abandoned quarry pit in the town last Saturday, February 8, 2014, when he went there to fetch water to bath due to lack of water in the school.
The death brings to three the number of students who had drown in the said pit within a period of three years.
The angry students wore red arm bands and chanted war songs at the school premises which sent the head teacher of the school, Mr Debrah Sarpong into hiding.
However, Mr Sarpong managed to escape to the Regional Police Quarters at Sekondi, where he lodged a complaint.
The police arrived at the school around 1300 hours to calm tempers however; two of the demonstrating students, Master Christian Wagah, Form three Business student and Theresa Mensah, Home Economics student, who were alleged to have misbehaved were arrested and handcuffed, thus incensed the students into rioting.
However,, the timely intervention of the Western Regional Director of Education, Mr Augustus Nii Lante Cleland, Captain (RTD) Anthony Cudjoe, the Mayor of the Sekondi-Takoradi, Mr Jerry Hanson, Board Chairman of the School and some key stakeholders brought the situation under control.
Mr Cleland met the student body and expressed his condolences for the loss of their colleague and pleaded with them to exercise patience since the School's authorities and the Students Representative Council (SRC) had briefed him on their concerns.
He pledged to work expeditiously to resolve the problems confronting the school and observed a minute silence in memory of their departed colleague.
He warned them not to destroy property but rather use lay down communication channels to address their concerns for amicable settlement.
Some of the concerns raised by the students included lack of water in the school thereby compelling them to fetch water from the nearest town and some abandoned pits thereby endangering their lives.
Others include alleged illegal collection of fees, poor toilet and urinal facilities for students and staff, mistreatment by some teachers of some students.
The demonstration disrupted classes for the day.
The corpse had since been deposited at the Effia-Nkwanta Hospital morgue for autopsy.
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