Free SHS cause of indiscipline in govt SHS – Education Committee

A member of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education Dr Clement Apaak following the trend of indiscipline in some public Senior High Schools by students says their act is a result of the Free Senior High School (Free SHS) policy.

The Member of Parliament for Builsa South in an interview monitored by AcademicWeek said the government has stripped the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) of their privilege to instil discipline in various government schools.

“It is beginning to seem as though with the introduction of the free SHS policy, there has been an emergence of indiscipline. Don’t take it from me, I have heard the leadership of NAGRAT complain that their members have constantly given instances where they are unable or are constrained in terms of disciplining students.

I will want to add that perhaps one of the reasons why we are seeing degeneration as far as indiscipline on the campuses of our secondary schools is concerned is also this relegation of parent-teacher association to the background.

With the introduction of the Free SHS policy, the role of PTAs has largely become voluntary, many parents are no longer engaged, and they are not participating. In the past where parents were actively engaged in helping managers of the schools to manage the schools to enforce discipline, I believe it has suffered,” the lawmaker said in the interview.

His comment comes after a video of a final-year student of Adisadel College violently assaulting a junior in a dormitory went viral on social media attracting the attention of the Ghana Education Service and other relevant stakeholders.

In a statement shared with AcademicWeek, the Ghana 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 Education Service release stated.