The manner in which the management of Queens College has handled sexual harassment allegations against a teacher, Olaseni Oshifala has drawn the condemnation of a non governmental organization, Project Alert On Violence Against Women.
In a statement to the media signed by its Executive Director, Josephine Effah-Chukwuma, the group condemned the management of the prestigious female secondary school for allowing its students protest in support of the teacher.
The statement reads:
Project Alert on Violence Against Women is indeed shocked and condemns the action of the Management of Queens College Lagos, whereby students were brought out of the school today with placards to protest the sexual abuse allegation against one of the teachers Mr. Owoseni Osifala, a Biology Teacher.
On Saturday morning, the social media was agog with the news that the mother of a JSS 2 girl had alleged sexual abuse of her daughter by the teacher. In response to this, the Old Girls of the school including Prof Grace Alele Williams (1st female Vice Chancellor) gathered in the school yesterday evening to discuss the matter with the management of the school. At this meeting the current Principal of QC, walked out on the Old Girls, some.of whom are older than her. She had to be called back.
Unknown to the Old Girls, the management of the school had their own plans as evident by the “forced protest” by the students of the school. We at Project Alert have the following questions to ask:
1. Did the management of QC take permission from the parents of these girls before taking them out on the streets?
2. Is the management of QC teaching the girls to be docile and unquestioning of situations?
3. Is QC training students to protest alleged crimes instead of calling for a thorough investigation?
4. Why did the Principal of the school walk out on the Old Girls of the school?
5. Why doesn’t the management of the school want an independent investigation carried out?
A threat to one child is a threat to all. Osifala may be a good teacher as the school and students claim, but that does not make him a saint. There is no smoke without a fire? The matter must be investigated thoroughly. The Principal of QC should be punished for bringing out the girls on to the street to protest an alleged crime that should be investigated. She is not fit to be an Educationist.