The Ghana Education Service (GES) has received criticism from Rev. Renault Amofa Danquah of the Asante Akyem Agogo Methodist Circuit for its prohibition on caning in elementary and senior high schools (SHS).
Speaking at the Wob3tumi Career Seminar at Asante Akyem Kurofa, Rev. Amofa urged GES to reconsider its “no-cane in school” policy, claiming that it has currently increased indiscipline amongst students.
As part of efforts to make pre-tertiary schools in the country safe and secure for teaching and learning, GES introduced the Safe Schools policy, which is explained as a school with zero tolerance for any form of violence such as bullying, sexual harassment, corporal punishment, and other forms of violence.
In 2017, Ghana Education Service (GES) officially banned all forms of corporal punishment on children in schools as part of efforts to promote a safe and protective learning environment for children.
However, the Akyem Rev is unhappy about the policy saying that if GES refuses to budge on its ban on caning, students would go wayward and the school’s role of instilling discipline and shaping character of students not only on academics would become a daunting task to do.
He added that children were getting away with a lot of things in the schools in the name of child abuse by their teachers, who are supposed to be correcting them.
Meanwhile, Founder of Matumi a Wob3tumi Career Seminar, Williams Amoako, also urged the youth in the country to strive hard for success, inculcating in
themselves the “Can Do Spirit” and advised the youth to be focused and determined in pursuing their dreams.
The ban was met with several concerns, with many saying the move would have a severe impact on the attitude of the youth.
It is also on record that some stakeholders in education, like Mr Angel Carbonu, President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), have suggested that the increase in indiscipline in schools can be attributed to a relaxation of the school discipline policy, and that that directive needs to be reviewed.
But Ghana’s education minister, Dr Yaw Adutuwm, thinks otherwise. He believes that, comparatively, canning “hasn’t gotten the Ghanaian student anywhere.”
In agreement, an educationist and Christian counsellor, Dr. John Boakye, also pointed out that studies have shown that corporal punishment does not correct
children or solve problems, it creates fear and hatred in them, which leads them to abuse others as a result.