Free SHS Policy Will Be “Senseless” Without Discipline

We say bravo to Nana “Show Boy” for the various educational interventions especially the Free SHS Policy. This policy has liberated parents from financial difficulties and has increased enrollment especially at the SHSs.

However, it will be suicidal and economically unwise to spend billions of cedis to offer free education to students without paying much attention to their moral conduct.

Education without value is not only useless but also very harmful to the holistic development of the youth. According to Manly Hall “a man without any ethic values is a wild animal released to the world” Similarly, Theodore Roosevelt says that “to educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society"

The youth of today have lost their moral values to the new era of globalization, civilization, democracy, modernization, and human right. It is a shock to see final year students with sheer impudence and audacity hurling insults on our president for their inability to write their science paper in the ongoing West African Senior Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

Why do students insult a president who has given almost everything for free, I mean they eat and sleep for free and on top get access to free past questions. *They are now insulting the president for not giving them “free apor” Who should we blame the society or the students?

Our educational structure in itself has failed! Today Ghana Education Service has totally banned any form of canning in Ghanaian schools and that teachers will be held responsible in default. Regrettably, there is no proper alternative means to ensure holistic discipline in our schools. Implicitly, students have absolute control and more powers than even teachers who are training them. *How can the walking stick be longer than the owner?* “Only in Ghana”

There are countless policies in our educational systems that are impeding our social values, integrity and patriotism. In my opinion total freedom for students make them pompous, rude, indiscipline and sluggish.

As a counsellor, I share the same sentiment with Hon. Sam George, MP for Ningo-Prampram that “politicians have allowed every discourse to be characterised by vitriol” Our children and the youth are learning from such amoral and cynical behaviour of political debaters. This is a source of deep worry.

It would be prudent if the instructional load of Teacher Counselors would be reduced for them to focus on offering effective guidance and counseling services. This will serve as alternative measure to instill/ensure proper discipline. Alternatively, GES can add counselors in our schools to the non-teaching staff to enable them execute the services proactively because this is crucial to the education process.

Again, I recommend that appropriate punishment should be given to students who have engaged or will engage themselves in any form of indiscipline act to serve as deterrent to others.

I charge the President, Educationists, Teacher Unions, Media, chiefs, NGO's sponsoring our educational system (DANIDA, JICA, DFID, KOICA, US/UK AID etc) and concern individuals to come in and speak against certain policies that do not merit generational thought.

"FREE SHS POLICY WILL BE COUNTERPRODUCTIVE WITHOUT DISCIPLINE"

Oppong Robert

Counsellor/Educationalist

0246179289/0208044096