A member of the Sunyani Adolescent Parliament, Miss Priscilla Asamoah, has expressed deep concern over the alarming rate at which male teachers in various Ghanaian schools are sexually harassing female students.
According to her, the Ghana Education Service (GES) must be more stringent in enforcing its guidelines and code of ethics, allowing such teachers to continue their predatory behaviour with little to no repercussions.
Speaking as a co-host on the adolescent program “Me Daakye,” which is part of the Sunyani Resilient City for Adolescents Project and airs every Saturday on Space FM, Miss Priscilla Asamoah questioned the effectiveness of the GES in curbing these abuses.
She criticized merely transferring offending teachers to other schools without proper punishment, which she believes encourages others to engage in similar misconduct.
“Despite the clear guidelines set by the Ghana Education Service, we continue to see cases where teachers violate these rules, abuse students, and escape without meaningful consequences. It is disheartening to see that, in many instances, these teachers are transferred to another school, where they may continue their predatory behaviour,” Miss Priscilla Asamoah lamented.
Priscilla further noted that reports of teachers sexually harassing or attempting to take advantage of adolescent girls in schools, particularly in senior high schools, have become alarmingly frequent.
“A year hardly goes by without a report of such incidents, yet the response from authorities is often limited to a mere statement from the Gender Ministry or the Department of Children, with little follow-up action,” she added.
The adolescent parliamentarian emphasized the need for more robust actions to protect students, particularly those courageous enough to report such incidents. She pointed out that many victims or potential victims face victimization and threats to their academic progress when they attempt to speak out, a situation that deters others from coming forward.
Miss Priscilla Asamoah called on the relevant authorities to take a more proactive approach to addressing these issues.
She urged them to ensure that teachers who engage in such misconduct face severe consequences to deter others from similar behaviour.
“The authorities must critically examine these behaviours and enforce stricter punishments to end these evil practices,” she said.
During the program, Mr George Ofori, Basic School Coordinator Ghana Education Service (GES), a resource person at the program, advised students to report any incidents of harassment or misconduct to their school’s counselling and Guardians coordinator or headteacher for redress.
Mr George Ofori stressed that the GES has established solid and strict guidelines prohibiting any form of relationship between teachers and students outside of the professional teacher-student relationship.
The “Me Daakye” program, implemented by GLOMEF and its partners, continues to provide a platform for adolescents to discuss critical issues affecting their lives and advocate for a safer and healthier community environment.
