Desist from use of corporal punishment — Teachers told
The Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Mr Jacob Kor, has called for the strengthening of guidance and counselling services in basic and second cycle institutions to provide a conducive school environment for learning.
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He has also urged teachers to desist from the use of corporal punishment, since that accounts for increased cases of school dropouts.
“Most of the armed robbers who create insecurity in the society today are school dropouts. Personally, I had to stop school at a point because of the corporal punishment I received from a teacher. It took the intervention of the head teacher of that school to get me back to school. This trend must not be allowed to continue,” he said.
Two-day workshop
Mr Kor made the statement at the opening ceremony of a two-day workshop in Accra Monday, for stakeholders in education to explore alternative forms of discipline that would be beneficial to students.
The workshop, which was organised by the GES, with funding from the United Nations Education Fund (UNICEF), brought together guidance and counselling co-ordinators drawn from parts of the country, representatives of teacher unions, human rights advocates, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
Harassment by teachers
Mr Kor said the reports of sexual harassment by some teachers against female students, which sometimes resulted in unwanted pregnancies, was a threat to the safety of the female students and ought to stop.
“Caning and other forms of capital punishment are weapons that frustrate students. Teachers are supposed to carve the destiny of our children and they must not let the use of corporal punishment endanger the human resource base of this country,” he said.
Step in the right direction
The Director of the Guidance and Counselling Unit of the GES, Mrs Josephine Pokoo Aikins, said the formulation of a tool to eradicate the use of corporal punishment was paramount and a step in the right direction.
“There has been a significant improvement in guidance and counselling services in the country. The challenge, however, is in the basic schools. They lack professionals to deliver that service,” she said.
She said the partnership with UNICEF had helped the unit to organise training workshops and seminars to improve the service in basic schools.
The Programmes Officer in charge of education at UNICEF, Mr Andrew Osei, said the international body had ample evidence that corporal punishment was a major reason why children dropped out of school.
He said if a proper tool was developed at the end of the workshop, it would help protect the rights of children and guide teachers on how to sanction students.
“We will support initiatives to train teachers at the grass roots after the tool is developed,” he said.
