The Ghana Education Service (GES) has announced disciplinary measures against two teachers of the Twene Amanfo Senior High Technical School in Techiman who allegedly assaulted a male student. The incident was captured in a viral video. Deputy Director-General in charge of Quality and Access at the GES, Dr Issahaque Munwaru, disclosed this in an interview on Joy FM's Super Morning Show on Monday, November 2.
According to Dr Munwaru, the teachers would be reprimanded and removed from their positions as Masters on Duty as part of measures recommended by a committee set up by the school's management to investigate the incident. The teachers would also be referred for guidance and counselling alongside the affected students. The school would surcharge them for the medical expenses incurred in treating the children.
Preliminary findings indicated that the teachers had allegedly assaulted students after discovering that some of them were bullying their colleagues and extorting money from them. The students were reportedly using the metallic parts of their belts to lash colleagues who refused to pay the money demanded from them. However, Dr Munwaru maintained that the teachers were not justified in taking the law into their own hands.
Dr Munwaru stressed that the GES Code of Conduct prohibits staff from inflicting physical punishment on students. “The law does not permit anything that will inflict pain on the child,” he said. The incident constituted professional misconduct under Part Three, Section Eight, Subsection A of the GES Code of Conduct.
The GES regularly educates teachers on the Code of Conduct through orientation programmes, professional learning communities and continuous professional development sessions. Dr Munwaru warned that teachers who repeat similar offences would face more severe disciplinary action. “Any further misconduct along the same line will not receive the same level. It is going to be more punitive,” he said.
The GES Deputy Director-General added that the Service was cooperating with security agencies investigating the incident, following the arrest of the teachers by the Bono East Regional Police. He said the Service would provide the necessary information to support the police investigation, while its own disciplinary processes continued.
The incident has sparked widespread concern about the prevalence of corporal punishment in schools. The GES has assured the public that it would continue to enforce its regulations against corporal punishment and other forms of abuse in schools. The Service is taking steps to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
Key points
- The Ghana Education Service takes disciplinary measures against two Techiman SHS teachers for assaulting a student.
- The teachers are to be reprimanded, removed from their positions as Masters on Duty, and referred for guidance and counselling.
- The GES warns that repeated offences will attract more severe disciplinary action.
