Senior Programmes Officer of the organisation, Divine Kpe, reacting to the directive to the GES to reconsider the disciplinary action against the students, said the regulatory institution must be given free hands to operate.
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Akufo-Addo's intervention in Chiana SHS students' case is interference with GES's work
Education think-tank, Africa Education Watch has described President Akufo-Addo’s intervention to reverse the dismissal of the eight Chiana SHS students as an interference with the work of the Ghana Education Service.
Divine Kpe
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According to him, students who fall foul of the standard code of conduct prescribed by the GES must be punished to serve as a deterrent to others.
“Look at the spate of indiscipline in our schools. Teachers feel that their power to discipline students has been taken away from them by the introduction of positive discipline tools. They feel like now even if we discipline students, authorities could come in to plead or reverse the decision and therefore they don’t want to do it anymore. Whatever students are doing, they are being left on their own to continue. We don’t want to encourage that so if the code of discipline which spells out the disciplinary outcome is followed and a decision is arrived at if there’s anything that must be done, we must use internal structures to appeal the process for a reversal and not as we’ve seen the President calling to direct that the GES reverses the decision.
“We should not be seeing political interference in the decisions of schools. We must get to a point where when schools take a decision and it is consistent with the school’s code of conduct and there has to be any change, we’ll use the internal structures to appeal a reversal,” starrfm.com.gh quotes Divine Kpe as saying.
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The Ghana Education Service (GES) dismissed the eight female students following a viral video which emerged in November last year in which they were captured insulting the President while expressing frustration over the severe hardship prevailing in the country.
A letter dated November 29, 2022, signed by the Director General of the GES, Dr Eric Nkansah and handed over to the guardians of the affected students communicated their dismissal.
The GES described the conduct of the affected students in the dismissal letter as undesirable, and contrary to the acceptable standards of conduct generally required of any student in Ghana’s educational system.
The disciplinary action was an outcome of an investigation that was launched into the video by the GES and the management of the Chiana SHS after they apologized to the President on behalf of the students involved.
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However, on Friday, January 13, 2023, the spokesperson of the GES, Kwasi Kwarteng released a statement, disclosing that following the President’s intervention, the Minister of Education, Dr Yaw Adutwum has directed the GES to review the disciplinary action taken against errant students.
The statement added that the GES was directed to give the students other punishments rather than dismissal.
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