‘Indiscipline in schools disturbing’
The Eastern Regional Director of Education, Ms Gertrude Mensah, has described indiscipline among staff and students in most schools as disturbing.
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According to her, such behaviour “does not only affect the academic performance of students but also destroys the moral fibre of the country”.
She has, therefore, urged board members to put measures in place to help curb the rising spate of indiscipline to ensure academic excellence in schools.
Ms Mensah was speaking at the inauguration of new board members for the Yilo Krobo Senior High Commercial School (YIKROSEC) at Somanya in the Yilo Krobo Municipality in the Eastern Region.
Due process
Ms Mensah stated that under no circumstance should board members of a school dismiss a student for acts of indiscipline without following the due process.
She advised the new board members to study a document on “Code of Discipline for Senior High Schools” to guide them in their service.
“When the nature of the case calls for the dismissal of a student, the recommendation of the board must be referred to the Director General of the Ghana Education Service through the Regional Director for final approval, while the affected student, in the interim, is placed on indefinite suspension,” the director said.
PTA
Ms Mensah lauded Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) for their roles in the development of education in the country.
She, however, stated that any fees introduced by the PTA for school development should have the initial approval of school boards even before they were sent to the director general for final approval.
She also noted that the success of a school’s board would depend largely on their response to meetings and the use of fairness, firmness and patience in arriving at decisions that would help promote discipline and good governance in schools.
Challenges
The Headmistress of the school, Mrs Elizabeth Mawusi Gadagbui-Dzadey, said the lack of a wall around the school had created room for encroachers.
She mentioned erosion, uncompleted boys’ dormitory and 18-unit classroom block, lack of administration block and bad road network as some of the major challenges facing the school.
The Board Chairman, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Ebenezer Doku, pledged the commitment of his team to pursuing an agenda to increase staff accommodation, classrooms, as well as dormitories in the school.