The National Peace Council is working to establish peace education clubs in senior high schools (SHSs) to help address the rising incidents of bullying, student clashes and the carrying of weapons.
In line with this, the Peace Council embarked on a sensitisation exercise that covered about 12,650 students in the Greater Accra Region.
At a press briefing in Accra yesterday, the Director of Capacity Development and Outreach, Janet Dedei Sarney-Kuma, said the initiative was needed to equip students with conflict management skills and also provide them with structured guidance to prevent disagreements from escalating into violence.
The sensitisation campaign, which formed part of the council’s second cycle of school outreach, was conducted between July 22 and August 21, 2026, across eight senior high schools in the Greater Accra Region.
The schools included Ghanata Senior High School, Kavenya Community Senior High School, Presbyterian Boys’ Senior High School, Wesley Grammar Senior High School, Accra Girls’ Senior High School, Tema Menhia Senior High School and Lashibi Community Senior High School.
Concerns
Ms Sarney-Kuma said the council’s school outreach programme had identified concerns around religious intolerance, bullying, weapons and human rights, making continuous peace education necessary.
She said Muslim and Christian students had raised concerns about religious intolerance, with Muslim students reporting stronger concerns about non-acceptance of their religious practices in many schools.
Ms Sarney-Kuma said some students had also admitted carrying minor weapons to school, especially during inter-school sporting events because they feared intimidation from students of rival schools.
“Students need the skills to manage disagreements before they become violence.
We are therefore focusing on building those skills early and consistently,” she said.
She said bullying by senior students against juniors had also emerged as a recurring concern, alongside other human rights issues and threats.
Peace clubs
Ms Sarney-Kuma said the council planned to introduce peace education clubs to help students develop practical conflict management and peaceful coexistence skills.
She said the clubs would be supported by periodic follow-ups and structured guidance because students who participated in sensitisation programmes eventually graduated, leaving new students who also needed to be engaged.
“Peace education cannot be a one-off activity. We need to keep working with schools because the students change and the issues also require continuous attention,” Ms Sarney-Kuma added.
She said the council also intended to place greater emphasis on digital citizenship because conflicts among students could continue on platforms such as WhatsApp, TikTok and Facebook after school hours.
She said students needed to be taught to verify information before sharing it, think carefully before posting and recognise when online conduct crossed into harassment.
