By Sharon Zoe Williams
The 14th Annual Dowuono Hammond Public Lecture, held at the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT, Accra, brought together prominent education stakeholders to discuss a pressing issue: indiscipline in senior high schools. The lecture, themed “Indiscipline in Senior High Schools in Ghana: Causes and Remedies,” served as a platform for experts to share insights and propose solutions to this challenge.
Highlighting the causes and remedies for indiscipline in senior high schools, the headmaster of Winneba Secondary School, Hayford Mensah Tetteh, stated that causes include peer pressure, which is a most troubling issue, and that some students learn bad behavior right from basic schools. He also explained that, “to be disciplined means, following a set of rules laid down, a code of behavior.” However, the moral standard in our society has sadly fallen, affecting both students and teachers. Unlike in the past, one unfortunate thing is, teachers are now posted to schools without proper vetting which will ensure a proper screening of teachers fit for the roles they play.
Another major contributory factor Tetteh outlined is, parents who have accepted behaviors like improper dressing as normal. Tetteh showed sample slides of student misbehavior, such as smoking, uncontrolled fighting, and drug abuse, and attributed these problems to parents and guardians not having enough time for their children, and instead, spend most of their time winning bread for their families. For which reason there is very little time for family gatherings which help instill discipline in our wards.
He emphasized that schools face challenges in controlling student behavior due to interferences like political and parental ones. The Ghana Education Service(GES) he mentioned, has a code of conduct for students, but the challenge lies in its implementation, particularly with phrases like “depending on the gravity” without clear guidelines on determining the severity of offenses. Tetteh suggested that amending the document to provide more specific guidelines would empower schools to discipline students more effectively, ensuring they develop into responsible individuals.
He warned that, If the current trend continues, the future of Ghana as a country would be at risk.
