The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) wants the final-year student of Three Town Senior High School at Denu in the Ketu South Municipality of the Volta Region who assaulted his teacher to be punished to serve as a deterrent to others.

The student is alleged to have been manhandling a first-year student when the teacher intervened leading to an altercation.

The final year visual arts student in the process pulled out a sharp object and attempted to stab the teacher, but ended up leaving a deep cut on the teacher’s arm.

The student who was earlier arrested has been granted bail to enable him to participate in examinations scheduled to begin on Monday.

But NAGRAT is unhappy with the development.

It strongly believes a bad precedent will be set if the student in question goes unpunished.

The union in a statement said, “information reaching the union indicates that, despite the crime committed by the student, some powers that be, have influenced the release of the student from the police cells and are insisting that the student be made to write the WASSCE exams which will be supervised by the same teachers he attacked.”

“The leadership of NAGRAT wants to serve notice to all that, we support the decision of the teachers in Three Town Senior School to withdraw their services and refuse to invigilate the WASSCE exams if the law is not made to take its course by punishing Gilbert Akakpo for inflicting knife wounds on Mr. John Kwashi Akey, the ICT Teacher.”

NAGRAT called on the Director-General, the Regional Director, and the Municipal Directors of Education to stand in solidarity with the teacher “rather than issue threats against the teachers.”

“NAGRAT wants to affirm its support to all teachers who have been attacked by students.”

It vowed not to stand idle “whilst teachers are being attacked by their students throughout the country.”