Education Watch reacts to incident of bullying at Adisadel College

Africa Education Watch (EduWatch) following an incident of bullying at Adisadel College has called on the Ministry of Education to distinguish criminal conduct from school misconduct to ensure the safety of students in public schools.

The Director of the education think tank, Mr Kofi Asare in a social media post sighted by AcademicWeek said “I condemn the alleged incident of bullying at Adisadel College. This is a criminal matter for the Ghana Police Service.”

The Africa Education Watch (EduWatc) Director, therefore, has suggested for authorities of various government Senior High/Technical Schools (SHTSs) in the country to distinguish criminal conduct from school misconduct.

“Our school heads require serious training and a written Case Management Protocol for violence occurring in school, including assault and battery.

This will guide authorities on critical steps required to be taken from the initial stage of reporting/notice through to reparation and justice.

It will also help school heads to distinguish criminal conduct meant to be reported to the police from civil misconduct that can be handled by the school’s disciplinary system,” the Director of the education think tank stated in his post.

His comment comes after the Ghana Education Service (GES) following a viral video of an assault involving two Adisadel College students has directed the Regional Director of Education to investigate the unfortunate incident in the school.

In a statement shared with AcademicWeek, the Education Service described the violent act as barbaric saying it applaud the Adisadel College authorities for taking swift action to suspend the culprit pending further investigation.

“Management is deeply concerned and condemns this barbaric act of violence in our schools. We applaud the school authorities for taking swift action to suspend the culprit pending further investigation,” GES said in the statement.

The press statement dated July 24, 2023, added that “Management has directed the Regional Director of Education to liaise with the school authorities and the relevant law enforcement agency to investigate for appropriate action.

“Ghana Education Service assures the general public that we are taking this matter very seriously and are committed to ensuring a safe and secure learning environment for all students across the country,” the GES release stated.