Parliament’s Human Rights Committee calls for reintroduction of safe disciplinary measures in SHSs

The Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights has called on the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) to reintroduce and strengthen safe disciplinary standards in second-cycle institutions across the country.

The call follows a viral video allegedly showing some teachers of Techiman Senior High School assaulting a student, an incident the Committee has described as disturbing.

In a press release issued on Monday, November 2, and signed by its Chairman, Ernest Yaw Anim, the Committee expressed concern over what it described as the increasing trend of indiscipline in second-cycle institutions, involving headteachers, housemasters, teachers and students.

“The Committee takes a strong view of such action, as well as the increasing rate and trend of indiscipline stemming from second-cycle institutions in Ghana,” the statement said.

It stressed the urgent need to reintroduce safe disciplinary standards to address the situation, warning that failure to do so could undermine Ghana’s efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4, which focuses on quality education.

“The Committee believes there is an urgent need for the reintroduction of safe disciplinary standard measures to curb the rising culture of indiscipline,” it stated.

The Committee further noted that the situation had implications for the protection of children’s rights under domestic and international laws, including Article 25(1) of the 1992 Constitution, Section 8 of the Children’s Act, 1998 (Act 560), and Article 28(2) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Reaffirming its commitment to protecting the right to education, the Committee said it remained “deeply committed to preserving the sanctity of Education in Ghana” and ensuring that quality education was guaranteed as a fundamental human right for all.