Reintroduction of ‘tougher’ disciplinary actions at schools imminent   

…as gov’t response to rising violence, disregard for authority   

By Ernest Bako WUBONTO

Vice President Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang has revealed plans to review disciplinary frameworks in schools nationwide in consultation with key stakeholders, as part of efforts to curb the rising incidence of vandalism and violence and strengthen discipline among students.

The Veep, in her address at the 2026 President’s Independence Day Awards held in Accra, expressed grave concerns about the growing incidence of examination malpractices – including assault on invigilators, vandalism and disrespect toward school authorities by students in schools across the country.

She noted prosperity is not built on infrastructure and resources alone, but also on law-abiding students and citizens who understand that personal conduct has national repercussions.

“We have seen troubling footages and documented reports of students engaging in exam malpractices in some schools, vandalism and increasing disrespect toward school authorities. Only a small percentage of our youth engage in these behaviours; however, they risk undermining national progress and sending the wrong signals about the Ghana we want,” she said.

In response to these concerns, the Vice President hinted that the Ministry of Education (MoE) – through the Ghana Education Service (GES) – and other key agencies and stakeholders have been directed to work together and review the regulations to strengthen discipline and value-based education across schools.

“We will support schools to reinforce guidance and counselling systems and ensure that disciplinary measures remain firm but aligned with children’s rights and dignity. The GES will review existing schools’ disciplinary frameworks in consultation with parents, teachers and educational resource persons to address this conduct early and prevent escalation,” she added.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang emphasised that the goal is not punishment for its own sake, but the development of citizens who understand both their freedoms and their responsibilities.

Corporal punishment

The Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) section 31(i), provides that force or harm may be justified on the grounds of an authority to correct a child, servant or other similar person for misconduct. Force used in the correction or discipline of children in Ghana has over the decades included corporal punishments like caning, kneeling and spanking.

However, GES in 2017 officially banned all forms of corporal punishment for children  in Ghana’s schools through a directive, as part of efforts supposedly aimed at promoting a safe and protective learning environment for children.

GES directed that a ‘Positive Discipline Toolkit (PDT)’ which gives alternatives to corporal punishments be adopted by all teachers.

The PDT, which contains positive and constructive alternatives for correcting children, was developed in 2016 as a component of the ‘Safe Schools Resource Pack’.

The safe protective school environment package is essentially focused on three violence-related behaviours – bullying, sexual harassment and corporal punishment.

The toolkit indicated that apart from the physical pain corporal punishment inflicts on children, this approach also causes significant emotional damage. Some of the lasting effects of this method of disciplining school children include physical scars and emotional scars like trauma, fear, timidity and violent behaviour, among others.

The toolkit outlines four levels of correction or discipline in place of corporal punishment. Level one touches on proactive & preventive measures and recommends setting clear rules, establishing expectations, encouraging good behaviour and fostering mutual respect at the start of a new term.

Level two – trivial/first-time offences – uses non-punitive measures like reminders, warnings and investigations into behaviour causes.

Level three tackles frequent or serious offences – with suggestions such as implementing counselling, behaviour contracts and token economies.

Level four addresses lingering or risky behaviour and proposes the utilisation of school-community conferencing and intensive counselling.

While human rights activists have over the years made a strong case for this directive to eliminate corporal punishment, teachers, school administrators and a majority of the public continue to express concerns about deteriorating morals and discipline in schools.

National Convenor-Campaign Against Privatisation and Commercialisation of Education (CAPCOE) and teacher Richard Kwashie Kovey told B&FT that, generally, the positive discipline toolkit has not made any significant impact in reforming the character and behaviour of students.

He emphasised that schools do not have the necessary facilities to ensure full implementation of the PDT as well as a safe school environment.

“Ideally, a well-planned and resourced school should naturally direct where a student should be and be doing at any point in time for a positive learning impact. However, under the current situation, security at the pre-tertiary level is very poor. Schools are not fenced and are highly challenged in terms of learning resources. Based on theory or grammar programmes, they have enough leisure time that gives them space to engage in all manners of negative behaviour,” he said.

Almost a decade on: What are the effects

Nine years into the ban on corporal punishment in schools, the decline in discipline is tremendously high and scary – with actions ranging from gun attacks, indiscriminate knife stabbings, vandalism and hooliganism during inter-schools sporting activities, organised attacks against staff, examination malpractice and drug abuse, among sexual immorality scandals.

Teachers, school administrators and key stakeholders have repeatedly lamented the declining discipline and moral standards in schools and the impunity with which youths are disregarding authorities on campuses.

Mr. Kwashie Kovey told B&FT that indiscipline in schools continues to worsen by the day, with educational authorities steadily losing control over students from the basic level through to senior high school.

He lamented that while few teachers try to instil some degree of discipline in students as a way of reforming them, their efforts are met with strong opposition from them.

“To provide insight into what is actually happening in our schools, learners as early as grade four are being recruited into gangs by rival groups in the communities where the schools are located. These groups include school dropouts, SHS leavers who could not progress and some who have never set foot in a classroom.

“They take advantage of funeral wake keepings, nightclubs, community games and other events that bring people together. The learners are enticed with drinks, some laced with wee or tramadol, kebabs and other incentives,” he said.

The recruits are assured of safety and protection from rival groups. Back in the classroom, if one group member has issues with the rival group members, the weaker one leaves the classroom to inform a group leader.

The leader, together with his gang storm the classroom without permission, attacks the one reported and moves out as if they own the school. Teachers are helpless because any attempt to stop them may result in an attack on them first.

The only option is reporting to the police, but often no community member will be bold enough to identify their hideouts for arrests due to fear of reprisal attacks. So, by the time they move to SHS level, they are already hardened and advanced in indiscipline.

SHS level

He said most of these students obtained their aggregates through cheating in examinations, adding that when they enter class and realise they cannot cope with the learning or the level of content they begin to skip lessons.

Others find their way to town and engage in betting at game centres – another area of conflict, especially if one group wins over the other for money. Unfortunately, they don’t fight at the game centre but bring their feud to school where the actual fights take place – resulting in stabbings and use of guns.

A teacher at a secondary school, Dennis Tetteh, opined that placement should be based on merit and, where possible, those who fall below an aggregate of 30 should be made to resit – indicating this has a natural way of instilling discipline and a sense of seriousness toward learning.

The same applies to SHS where those who fail to meet certain minimum targets are made to repeat, which will ensure they stay in school and sit in class to learn.

It is also about time we conduct research into whether the curriculums we deliver are acceptable to the learners compared with alternatives they are exposed to and how these meet their immediate expectations.

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