Some level of discipline must be exercised in schools — Nii Lante Vanderpuye

Former Member of Parliament for Odododiodio, Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, has raised concerns over what he describes as growing indiscipline in Ghanaian schools.

He said incidents of students attacking teachers and security personnel have become worrying, noting that the situation reflects a breakdown in school discipline.

Speaking on Accra-based Channel One TV’s Breakfast Daily show on Thursday, December 4, the former MP, who now serves as National Coordinator for the District Road Improvement Programme, said he supports the ban on corporal punishment but insisted that schools must still enforce discipline to ensure order.

Nii Lante Vanderpuye further questioned,“When did we reach this stage where students will go out and come and beat up their tutors and security men on camera?” he asked.

He argued that the current environment limits teachers from enforcing discipline, a situation he said, affects academic work.

“The environment has changed because the teachers are scared to punish truant children. They are scared to even talk about them because they don’t know how they will be treated,” he noted.

The former legislator stressed that schools must be structured in a way that shapes behaviour and creates a sense of responsibility among learners.

“There’s no need to reinvent the wheel, but we must remodel it so that children will feel they are in a different environment with clear limitations,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Ghana Education Service (GES) officially banned corporal punishment in schools in 2017, a move consistent with Ghana's commitment to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The ban aims to foster a safe, positive learning environment by eliminating violence and replacing physical punishment with other disciplinary methods.