As Basic Schools across Ghana prepare to reopen for the 2026/2027 academic year, MISORNU Safety Center, a non-governmental organisation headed by DCOP (Rtd.) David Senanu Eklu is calling for heightened road safety measures to protect schoolchildren as they return to the classroom.
The reopening of schools will result in increased pedestrian and vehicular movement, particularly during the morning and afternoon peak periods.
This comes against the backdrop of worrying statistics released by the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA).
In 2025, Ghana recorded 2,561 pedestrian knockdowns, while 328 of the 2,949 people killed in road crashes were below 18 years. Between January and April 2026, the Authority recorded 666 pedestrian knockdowns and 181 pedestrian deaths nationwide.
Greater Accra Regional Director of the NRSA, Mr Joshua Kwasi Quist, has described the rise in pedestrian fatalities as an “immediate public safety crisis requiring urgent intervention.” His message to motorists is direct: “Drivers must exercise patience and give way to people crossing the road.”
These figures should concern us all. Children are among the most vulnerable road users, and the increased movement associated with school reopening requires motorists, parents, schools, transport operators, and public authorities to take additional precautions.
MISORNU Safety Center therefore recommends the following measures:
Motorists should reduce speed around schools, pedestrian crossings, bus stops and residential areas; avoid dangerous overtaking and distracted driving; and always give way to pedestrians, particularly children.
Parents and guardians should accompany younger children where practicable and reinforce safe road-crossing practices, including the use of pavements and designated pedestrian crossings. Children should be discouraged from using electronic gadgets while walking near traffic.
School-bus and commercial drivers transporting pupils must avoid speeding and overloading, ensure their vehicles are roadworthy, and use safe pick-up and drop-off points that do not expose children to moving traffic.
Transport unions and okada riders’ associations should deliver short daily road safety briefings to their members through their various communication platforms, reinforcing safe and responsible road-use habits, particularly during school commuting hours.
School authorities should reinforce road safety education during assemblies and classroom engagements and provide appropriate supervision during school arrival and closing periods.
The Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service should consider a Special School Safety Operation, involving the strategic deployment of personnel to high-risk school zones, major intersections, and pedestrian crossings during peak school hours. The operation should combine visible traffic enforcement and management with targeted engagements involving pupils, parents, school authorities, school-bus operators, drivers, and motor riders.
Road agencies and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies should urgently inspect school zones and ensure that pedestrian crossings, warning signs, speed-reducing measures, and other road safety facilities are visible, functional, and appropriate for protecting children.
MISORNU Safety Center believes that preventing pedestrian injuries and deaths among schoolchildren requires coordinated action before crashes occur. School reopening should therefore be treated as an important road safety period requiring increased vigilance, enforcement, education and sustained traffic management.
A child’s journey to school should never end in a road traffic crash.
SLOW DOWN. LOOK OUT FOR CHILDREN. PROTECT EVERY CHILD.
