Ghana’s Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights has urged the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) to restore and strengthen safe disciplinary standards in second-cycle institutions.
The Committee’s appeal follows a viral video allegedly showing teachers from Techiman Senior High School assaulting a student. It described the reported incident as disturbing and said it highlighted wider concerns about discipline in Ghana’s second-cycle institutions.
In a press release issued on Monday, November 2, the Committee said indiscipline was becoming an increasing problem among headteachers, housemasters, teachers and students. The statement was signed by its Chairman, Ernest Yaw Anim.
“The Committee takes a strong view of such action, as well as the increasing rate and trend of indiscipline stemming from second-cycle institutions in Ghana,” the statement said.
The Committee said action was urgently needed to reintroduce disciplinary measures that protected students while addressing misconduct in schools.
“The Committee believes there is an urgent need for the reintroduction of safe disciplinary standard measures to curb the rising culture of indiscipline,” it stated.
It warned that failing to address the issue could affect Ghana’s progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4, which concerns the provision of quality education.
The Committee also linked the matter to the protection of children’s rights under Ghanaian and international law. It referred specifically to Article 25(1) of the 1992 Constitution, Section 8 of the Children’s Act, 1998 (Act 560), and Article 28(2) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
It said disciplinary practices in second-cycle institutions must be consistent with those legal protections and with the broader right of children to receive education in a safe environment.
Reaffirming its position on education, the Committee said it remained “deeply committed to preserving the sanctity of Education in Ghana” and to ensuring that quality education was guaranteed as a fundamental human right for all.
The call places responsibility on the Ministry of Education, GES and NCCE to respond to concerns about discipline across the country’s second-cycle institutions and to support the return of safe disciplinary standards.
