The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has sparked a high-profile national debate over whether Ghana should reintroduce corporal punishment in schools as a response to escalating misconduct and violence among students.
Speaking yesterday at the opening of a two-day National Conference on Stemming the Growing Indiscipline in Schools in Sunyani, Mr. Iddrisu urged education stakeholders, parents, religious bodies, and civil society to re-examine existing disciplinary policies.
"Should we reintroduce corporal punishment?" the Minister asked, challenging participants to consider whether the current framework is effective in light of worsening student behavior across the country.
The conference, themed "Stemming the Growing Indiscipline in Schools in an Emerging World," addresses complex modern challenges, including cyberbullying, AI-assisted examination malpractice, campus gang activity, drug abuse, and the erosion of teacher authority.
Zero Tolerance for Criminal Conduct
While inviting open discussion on corporal punishment, Mr. Iddrisu made it clear that the state would draw a firm line against lawlessness, warning that criminal behavior will be dealt with decisively.
He stated that school heads, teachers, and the Ghana Education Service (GES) have the full authority and support of President John Dramani Mahama and the government to enforce a zero-tolerance policy against violence, narcotics, and weapons on campus.
Highlighting alarming recent trends—including students bringing firearms to school, destroying CCTV surveillance cameras, selling narcotics on campus, and physically assaulting invigilators during examinations—Mr. Iddrisu cautioned that indiscipline now threatens the broader fabric of society.
"If our schools cannot form disciplined citizens, what manner of a nation are we preparing for tomorrow?" he questioned, stressing that indiscipline has expanded to affect some teachers, headmasters, and examination officials.
Stakeholders Call for Moral Reform and Teacher Empowerment
Delivering remarks at the event, key education and religious leaders shared perspectives on the root causes and remedies for campus misconduct:
Character and Discipline: The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rt. Rev. Prof. Abraham Nana Opare Kwakye, argued that "education without character produces knowledgeable individuals, but not responsible citizens." He called for empowering teachers to enforce discipline fairly alongside stronger guidance and counseling programs.
Implementation Gaps: The Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, Prof. Ernest Kofi Davis, noted that while Ghana officially replaced corporal punishment with positive discipline measures in 2017, implementation has remained weak due to inadequate teacher training and logistical support.
Escalation to Criminality: In her keynote address, Prof. Fatuma Nyaguthii Chege of Kenyatta University, Kenya, warned that school indiscipline across the continent is increasingly crossing into serious criminality, citing cases where students have faced formal prosecution for severe offenses.
The conference aims to produce a set of actionable recommendations to guide the Ministry of Education in establishing a comprehensive national framework for school discipline and character formation.
