Tema-Ghana, Jan. 27, MNN —The Campaign against Privatization and Commercialization of Education (CAPCOE) has stated that there is a need for the revision of disciplinary measures in schools in the country.
Mr. Richard Kwashi Kovey, CAPCOE Convener was speaking to newsmen in an interview in Tema and said the ban on corporal punishment is contributing to the misbehavior some students were portraying.
He said corporal punishment gave clear borderlines and encouraged children to behave well in school saying that the absence of corporal punishment had given some level of authority to the students to misbehave.
Mr. Kovey said the ban has weakened the school’s authority to put students in check because even after misbehaving, teachers were not to punish them for such bad characters they exhibited.
He said that had contributed to the recent continuous inappropriate behaviour by some students insulting leaders on social media platforms.
“Saying teachers are not supposed to do this and that then the students take it that whatever they say or do they have the right to do because that’s the impression that has been created,” he said.
The CAPCOE Convener said there must be a national approach in dealing with the high level of indiscipline in schools and communities saying that promoting a safe environment for learning in schools must be done in the context of Ghanaian cultural norms.
“Countries where corporal punishment is not allowed, the system is such that everybody knows what the law says but in this country how many of us know about the law that governs us,” he said.
The Ghana Education Service (GES) in 2017 officially banned all forms of corporal punishment of children in schools in Ghana as part of efforts aimed at promoting a safe and protective learning environment for children.
