Students are being influenced by social media and hard drugs – Deputy Education Minister

The Deputy Minister for Education Dr Clement Apaak has underscored the growing influence of social media, mobile phones and substance abuse for increasing cases of indiscipline among students, following the attack on the headmaster of Obuasi Senior High Technical School (O'Sec Tech).

Speaking on Citi FM while reacting to the assault on the headmaster over unconfirmed allegations that he had buried a baby's body on the school campus for ritual purposes, Dr Apaak said some of the factors contributing to such behaviour were becoming increasingly evident.

"Some of the issues that came up, and I believe some to be true, are the negative influence of social media and the abuse of the modern cell phone," he said.

According to him, exposure to inappropriate content online is influencing the conduct of some young people.

"Students are able to see all manner of behaviours, no matter how condemnable and abhorrent, both from within the jurisdiction and beyond. And somehow they begin to get a feeling that they can also act in such manners and get away with it," he stated.

Dr Apaak also raised concerns about the growing use of narcotics and other harmful substances among students.

"We also have the incessant danger of the use of narcotics and other unapproved medical substances. This is a very serious issue that is also plaguing our youth," he said.

He cautioned that some drinks consumed by young people may contain harmful substances beyond what they appear to be.

"You see them holding these energy drinks, and you might think that it is just an energy drink. But that is a potent concoction of a combination of all kinds of substances," he added.