The Minister of State for Education, Prof Anthony Anwuka, has requested that useful information about the alleged sexual assault of a female student of Queens College, Lagos, by a male teacher be sent to a private Yahoo account contrary to official best practice.
This was disclosed in a statement by the Director of Press, Federal Ministry of Education, Ben Bem Goong, on Monday in Abuja.
The statement also announced that the minister has set up a panel to investigate the controversy which saw students of the 89-year-old institution protest what they called a campaign to destroy the reputation of one of their best teachers.
Anwuka urged the panel to unravel the truth behind the allegation and make recommendations to government based on the principles of truth, justice and fairness to all parties.
He advised parents, guardians, students and staff of Queens College who had credible information on the matter to avail same to the committee through saniabdu59@yahoo.com.
“Apparently disturbed by media reports over alleged sexual assault on a JSS II female student of Queens College, Lagos by a male teacher in the same school, the minister has set up a panel to unravel the veracity of the allegations being levelled against the teacher.
“Several reports from the conventional and social media networks in the past few days have indicated that there was an alleged case of sexual molestation on a JSS II student by a teacher in the same school.
“The minister has assured the general public, particularly parents and guardians whose wards are in any of the Unity Schools and other Federal Government Colleges that their children are in safe hands.
“He said that the government will continue to do everything possible within the ambit of the law to protect their wards in all government schools across the country, including Queens College, Lagos,” the statement said.
According to the statement, the panel has two weeks within which to submit its report.
