Headmaster of Wenchi Methodist Senior High School has revealed that the ill-fated excursion to Kintampo waterfalls in the Bong Ahafo region was duly sanctioned.
Mr Foster Boateng who lost 15 of his students in the tragedy revealed this at a meeting with the Vice-President Dr. Bawumia and management of Methodist schools on Monday night.
He explained that it was an inter-regional excursion which included a tour of Paga Crocodile Pond in the Upper East region.
“They brought an application to us….it happened to be an inter-regional excursion. As a headmaster of the school, I had to refer it to the appropriate quarters because regional excursions are beyond my capacity”.
According to him, the letter seeking permission was referred to the regional Director of Education through the Municipal Director.
Approval was given for the two-day trip which began on Friday and was to see the students return on Saturday.
After visiting Paga, the group was unable to travel back to Kintampo and still leave on Saturday because it would mean travelling at night, he suggested.
The headmaster explained that by Ghana Education Service (GES) regulations students on excursions are not to travel after 6 pm.
The return trip was therefore postponed to Sunday after arriving at Kintampo on Saturday.
The students joined others revelers from the University of Mines and Natural Resources at the Kintampo waterfalls on that fateful Sunday.
At about 4 pm reports pointed to a tragic loss of lives during a windy weather after a tree fell on students in a pond beneath the waterfall.
Twenty have been confirmed dead and 11 others in critical condition.
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