If GES does not take action, school violence will continue to be a ticking time bomb in Ghana that will blow up if GES does not address the problem. The use of corporal punishment in schools continues to be disastrous.
Every morning we awake to reports of various forms of abuse in our country, with children, girls, and women suffering the most.
Every day, we are faced with abuses such as child labor, child trafficking, child marriage, child sex abuse, infringement of a child's right to an education, and a variety of other physical and emotional abuses.
Surprisingly, many of the abuse victims receive no type of justification, and many of these situations go unmentioned or unreported.
It is undoubtedly a troubling trend to see how severely people's rights are being violated while those who should be protecting them do nothing. This has caused many individuals to wonder if our nation is subject to laws or not.
The reality of human rights violations occurring to our children in schools was recently brought home by a Human Rights Reporters Ghana (HRRG) exposé that showed how 19 students at the Annor Adjaye Senior High School in the Western Region were severely caned by their teachers, leaving visible marks and blood clots on the legs, back, and other important parts of their bodies.
This awful atrocity committed by instructors on students in the name of enforcing discipline can only be regarded as physical abuse at its core, which is not justice for the victims.
As stated previously in the article, these students were allegedly late for a Sunday church service and as a result, they suffered unjustified criticism and ruthless lashings, analogous to how animals would be treated when they had gone astray.
In a similar vein, Ghana awoke on November 22, 2022, to yet another heartbreaking instance of child maltreatment in a school. The victims this time were a few unfortunate students from the Agogo State College, which is situated in the Ashanti Akim North District of the Ashanti Region.
This came about as a result of some disturbing images that circulated on social media, showing deformities on the backs of the pupils who had endured repeated strikes of brutal canning by their teachers.
A worried student called for mercy to help expose the situation and be saved by the authorities as he posted the terrible images of the victims on his twitter page and tagged Human Rights Reporters Ghana and other media advocacy groups.
If the authorities ignore their pleas for justice, a tweet that accompanied the images warned of a potential risk.
"Agogo State College students are in need of your assistance. Please, the teachers are not carrying out their duties. I know this won't help, but if you see a photo of a teacher who is gravely hurt, say nothing!
The lecturers at Agogo State College are not performing their given jobs and are instead treating us like animals, which is not nice at all. The government of Ghana must help. The distress message read, "We are pleading with you, please, we need your assistance immediately.
Unfortunately, arriving late for class was the offense for which the pupils were supposedly mistreated.
Morning sessions at Agogo State College often begin around 7:30 am, according to the HRRG sources. However, at around 6:30 a.m., students started running out of their dorm, confusing many others who were still getting dressed. This happened as they were preparing to leave for class.
The students were instructed to kneel down by the teachers when they entered the dorm. When the learners attempted to explain to the teachers that it wasn't time for lessons, the teachers pounced on them without hesitation and brutally caned the learners as if they were animals.
The Human Rights Reporters Ghana did actually live up to expectations by publishing the tragic story on November 22, 2022, the actual day the incident occurred, after stumbling over the troubling tweet of the victimized kid with the hope of seeing the authorities respond.
Unfortunately, despite repeated requests for justice to be served to these students from Human Rights Reporters Ghana as well as other Civil Society Organizations and the media, the Ghana Education Service (GES) has yet to demonstrate any interest in opening an investigation into the matter and ensuring that, if found guilty, the perpetrators will be subjected to the full force of the law for their actions.
In order to provide a setting that is secure and safe for teaching and learning, the GES ruled in February 2017 that the use of physical and inhumane punishment in schools was prohibited. In addition, the GES expressed regrets in light of the numerous instances of corporal punishment in pre-tertiary institutions that have been documented.
Unfortunately, the GES has not shown any sympathy or regret for the predicament of pupils who are subjected to teachers who disobeyed its instructions regarding the ban on corporal punishment in schools.
Despite the GES's 2017 ban on physical punishment, teachers frequently engage in brute violence against kids.
Most Pre-tertiary Institutions around the nation are rife with this unsettling behavior, which is uncalled for.
Given the current situation, it is evident that if the authorities do not take action to address the issue of corporal punishment in schools and make sure that teachers fully adhere to the GES regulations, there is a looming danger of violence likely to break out in schools.
Of course, the warnings offered by students who experienced these abuses at the hands of their teachers who disregarded the GES rule on corporal punishment in the name of punitive measures make the writing on the wall very plain.
These have been demonstrated in a number of incidents, including those involving the Annor Adjaye Senior High School, the Agogo State College scandal, which Human Reporters Ghana brought to light, as well as numerous more examples that have gone unreported in the media.
If at all possible, the GES should be motivated by the warning signs of potential violence that is about to rear its ugly head in schools across the nation, particularly in the Western and Ashanti Regions of Ghana where these problems are common.
Since there are always consequences when laws are broken, the GES should anticipate the worst from kids if it does not take action against teachers who disobey its rules on using corporal punishment in schools. Of course!
It now appears that the adage "when persuasion fails, force must be applied" seemed to be the only language the Agogo State College students understood and was resonating in their heads through their stance after trying persuasion which never worked for them.
As far as enforcing the ban on corporal punishment in schools is concerned, I think this should serve as a clear message to the GES to step up to the plate and find a cooperative solution to the issues encountered by children in the classroom.
It's time to hear the dire warnings of the Agogo State College victims and other students who suffered a similar fate at the hands of their professors in order to spare Ghana from the violence time bomb that will soon detonate in schools all over the nation if caution is not exercised.
I therefore urge the Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Eric Nkansah, and the Minister of Education, Yaw Osei Adutwum, to intervene immediately, investigate all cases of brute canning occurring in the nation's schools, particularly the two in question (Annor Adjaye SHS and Agogo State College), and appropriately discipline the teachers who disobey the rules to serve as a deterrent to others.
Additionally, I humbly implore Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, Inspector General of Police, to use his good offices to assist in conducting a thorough investigation into incidents of teacher abuse of students that violates both their legal and constitutional rights. He should also work to have the offenders brought to justice in accordance with the law in order to put an end to the abhorrent practice of corporal punishment in schools and ensure the protection of students' rights, peace, and justice.
Finally, I urge Ghanaian authorities to help pupils who were subjected to th
The reality of human rights violations occurring to our children in schools was recently brought home by a Human Rights Reporters Ghana (HRRG) exposé that showed how 19 students at the Annor Adjaye Senior High School in the Western Region were severely caned by their teachers, leaving visible marks and blood clots on the legs, back, and other important parts of their bodies.
This awful atrocity committed by instructors on students in the name of enforcing discipline can only be regarded as physical abuse at its core, which is not justice for the victims.
As stated previously in the article, these students were allegedly late for a Sunday church service and as a result, they suffered unjustified criticism and ruthless lashings, analogous to how animals would be treated when they had gone astray.
In a similar vein, Ghana awoke on November 22, 2022, to yet another heartbreaking instance of child maltreatment in a school. The victims this time were a few unfortunate students from the Agogo State College, which is situated in the Ashanti Akim North District of the Ashanti Region.
This came about as a result of some disturbing images that circulated on social media, showing deformities on the backs of the pupils who had endured repeated strikes of brutal canning by their teachers.
A worried student called for mercy to help expose the situation and be saved by the authorities as he posted the terrible images of the victims on his twitter page and tagged Human Rights Reporters Ghana and other media advocacy groups.
If the authorities ignore their pleas for justice, a tweet that accompanied the images warned of a potential risk.
"Agogo State College students are in need of your assistance. Please, the teachers are not carrying out their duties. I know this won't help, but if you see a photo of a teacher who is gravely hurt, say nothing!
The lecturers at Agogo State College are not performing their given jobs and are instead treating us like animals, which is not nice at all. The government of Ghana must help. The distress message read, "We are pleading with you, please, we need your assistance immediately.
Unfortunately, arriving late for class was the offense for which the pupils were supposedly mistreated.
Morning sessions at Agogo State College often begin around 7:30 am, according to the HRRG sources. However, at around 6:30 a.m., students started running out of their dorm, confusing many others who were still getting dressed. This happened as they were preparing to leave for class.
The students were instructed to kneel down by the teachers when they entered the dorm. When the learners attempted to explain to the teachers that it wasn't time for lessons, the teachers pounced on them without hesitation and brutally caned the learners as if they were animals.
The Human Rights Reporters Ghana did actually live up to expectations by publishing the tragic story on November 22, 2022, the actual day the incident occurred, after stumbling over the troubling tweet of the victimized kid with the hope of seeing the authorities respond.
Unfortunately, despite repeated requests for justice to be served to these students from Human Rights Reporters Ghana as well as other Civil Society Organizations and the media, the Ghana Education Service (GES) has yet to demonstrate any interest in opening an investigation into the matter and ensuring that, if found guilty, the perpetrators will be subjected to the full force of the law for their actions.
In order to provide a setting that is secure and safe for teaching and learning, the GES ruled in February 2017 that the use of physical and inhumane punishment in schools was prohibited. In addition, the GES expressed regrets in light of the numerous instances of corporal punishment in pre-tertiary institutions that have been documented.
Unfortunately, the GES has not shown any sympathy or regret for the predicament of pupils who are subjected to teachers who disobeyed its instructions regarding the ban on corporal punishment in schools.
Despite the GES's 2017 ban on physical punishment, teachers frequently engage in brute violence against kids.
Most Pre-tertiary Institutions around the nation are rife with this unsettling behavior, which is uncalled for.
Given the current situation, it is evident that if the authorities do not take action to address the issue of corporal punishment in schools and make sure that teachers fully adhere to the GES regulations, there is a looming danger of violence likely to break out in schools.
Of course, the warnings offered by students who experienced these abuses at the hands of their teachers who disregarded the GES rule on corporal punishment in the name of punitive measures make the writing on the wall very plain.
These have been demonstrated in a number of incidents, including those involving the Annor Adjaye Senior High School, the Agogo State College scandal, which Human Reporters Ghana brought to light, as well as numerous more examples that have gone unreported in the media.
If at all possible, the GES should be motivated by the warning signs of potential violence that is about to rear its ugly head in schools across the nation, particularly in the Western and Ashanti Regions of Ghana where these problems are common.
Since there are always consequences when laws are broken, the GES should anticipate the worst from kids if it does not take action against teachers who disobey its rules on using corporal punishment in schools. Of course!
It now appears that the adage "when persuasion fails, force must be applied" seemed to be the only language the Agogo State College students understood and was resonating in their heads through their stance after trying persuasion which never worked for them.
As far as enforcing the ban on corporal punishment in schools is concerned, I think this should serve as a clear message to the GES to step up to the plate and find a cooperative solution to the issues encountered by children in the classroom.
It's time to hear the dire warnings of the Agogo State College victims and other students who suffered a similar fate at the hands of their professors in order to spare Ghana from the violence time bomb that will soon detonate in schools all over the nation if caution is not exercised.
I therefore urge the Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Eric Nkansah, and the Minister of Education, Yaw Osei Adutwum, to intervene immediately, investigate all cases of brute canning occurring in the nation's schools, particularly the two in question (Annor Adjaye SHS and Agogo State College), and appropriately discipline the teachers who disobey the rules to serve as a deterrent to others.
Additionally, I humbly implore Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, Inspector General of Police, to use his good offices to assist in conducting a thorough investigation into incidents of teacher abuse of students that violates both their legal and constitutional rights. He should also work to have the offenders brought to justice in accordance with the law in order to put an end to the abhorrent practice of corporal punishment in schools and ensure the protection of students' rights, peace, and justice.
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Finally, I urge Ghanaian authorities to help pupils who were subjected to the heinous abuse and brutal canning at schools by providing them with the necessary medical care and counseling to relieve their mental suffering.
Source
Ghanaeducation.org/school
Joseph Kobla Wemakor
The author is a fervent advocate for human rights, the founder and executive director of Human Rights Reporters Ghana, and a national SDGs champion (HRRG).
Video by OWUSU KWARTENG
TAG: GES
