Bimobas-Konkombas clashes: 843 students may not sit for BECE, WASSCE

A total of 691 candidates of the Nankpanduri Senor High School (SHS) registered for the WASSE, may not be able to sit for their exams if pragmatic steps are not put in place to find lasting solution to the renewed conflict between Bimobas and Konkombas.

Similarly, 152 Junior High School candidates may not take part in the upcoming Basic Education Certificate Examination slated for April in the area within the Bunpurungu Yonyo District of the Northern Region

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Nankpanduri, Chief Kuipo Harrison Salifu, Headmaster of the School, said the centre of the examination, which is the Nakpanduri SHS is near Kpemale, the conflict flash point.

He described the past and recent incidences as devastating, adding that June 2012 clash traumatized many students due to exchange of fire that shocked the school’s compound.

He said the continued occurrence of the clash, which started about 28 years ago, could force authorities to indefinitely close down the school with a population of 1,400 students.

“Look at what happened recently, we were celebrating the 56th Independence Day and the occasion ended abruptly…this is not good for this country the early something is done the better,” he said.

He said the issue would be raised for discussion with the Conference of Head of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) as to what step to take if the tension continued at their pending meeting.

Mr Solomon Boa, Member of Parliament for Bunkpurugu, appealed to leaders of the two factions to ponder on the issue and advised their followers to resort to dialogue to address their problem.

“We have only one country and it is our responsibility as leaders and as community members to ensure that it is safe”, he said.

Master Peter Naa, a final year student at Nankpanduri SHS, called on government to help settle the conflict in the area.

Although there are different schools of thought as to the root cause of the ethnic clash, Superintendent Alhaji Mahama Arhin, Northern Regional Crime Officer of the Ghana Police Service, however said the two ethnic groups had been at loggerheads for a very long time over some parcels of lands and any minor misunderstanding always resulted in attacks on each other.

Currently there is a heavy Police and Military Patrol in the area to maintain peace and protect lives and property.

Source: GNA