A 19-year-old final-year student of Peki Senior High School in the Volta Region has died after an alleged confrontation with a fellow student over a schoolbag in one of the school’s dormitories.
The deceased, identified as Joseph Tsetsekple, reportedly became unconscious after he was allegedly pushed against a wall during the disagreement.
Information gathered indicates that the incident occurred after Joseph placed his schoolbag on a colleague’s bed. The colleague reportedly asked him to remove it and allegedly threw it away when he attempted to retrieve it.
The exchange escalated into a confrontation after Joseph questioned why the bag had been thrown instead of being placed on his bed.
During the altercation, the colleague allegedly pushed him against a wall, causing him to lose consciousness.
Joseph reportedly remained unconscious for several hours before he was taken to Peki Government Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The student accused of pushing him has been arrested and is in police custody assisting with investigations.
Joseph’s father, Gabriel Tsetsekple, said his son and twin sister had contacted him on the day of the incident to request money. He said he sent the money and later tried calling to confirm that they had received it but could not reach them.
He said a teacher subsequently called to inform him that Joseph had become unconscious and had been taken to hospital.
The father said he was travelling from Nkachina in the Kpandai District of the Northern Region to the school when the headmistress called to inform him that his son had died after failing to respond to treatment.
The Volta Regional Director of Education, Marian Jemima Akua, confirmed the incident and expressed condolences to the bereaved family.
She described the incident as a tragic consequence of uncontrolled emotions and urged parents and guardians to teach children anger management and peaceful conflict resolution.
She also called on students to report disagreements to school authorities and urged schools to strengthen supervision and emergency response procedures to prevent similar incidents.
