Deputy Minister of Education, Dr Clement Apaak

The Ministry of Education is implementing a series of measures to address the growing rate of indiscipline in Senior High Schools (SHSs) across the country.

The Deputy Minister of Education, Dr Clement Apaak, revealed in a social media post on Friday that the government will empower Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) to help schools address disciplinary issues.

He also noted that the Mahama administration intends to reintroduce routine searches of students' belongings, a practice that was discontinued after the New Patriotic Party (NPP) assumed office in 2017.

“The Hon. Minister of Education has, through the Ghana Education Service [GES], authorized the management of secondary schools to conduct searches on students—something that was not permitted under the previous government. In addition, PTAs have been restored to their status prior to 2017. These are just two of many policy measures currently in the pipeline,” he stated.

Dr Apaak said the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, had directed the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service to begin implementing further interventions aimed at achieving holistic reforms in the near future.

He described the issue as “worrying,” and cited it as justification for the need to review the Free SHS policy in order to “improve and sustain it.”

In recent times, there have been several reports of misconduct by students in Senior High Schools. Last week, a 16-year-old student of Osei Kyeretwie Senior High School (SHS) in the Ashanti Region was arrested for possessing a locally manufactured gun without lawful authority.

Earlier this week, a video circulated widely on social media showed a student refusing to tuck in his shirt despite being reprimanded by a teacher.