Indiscipline in schools: 500 Cadets trained to detect, prevent conflict

Five hundred school cadets from 20 Senior High Schools (SHSs) have undergone special security and safety training to enable them to detect early warning signs of conflict, indiscipline and other risks in schools before they escalate into serious incidents.

The initiative, spearheaded by the MISORNU Safety Centre in partnership with the National Cadet Corps, is aimed at equipping young people with specialised knowledge and skills to promote safety and security, particularly in schools.

The participants were taken through a three-hour training session at Yamfo in the Tano North Municipality in the Ahafo Region.

The training focused on four interconnected areas, namely conflict prevention, emotional intelligence, leadership, and security and safety awareness.

Safety in schools
At the training session on Monday, the Executive Director of the centre, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Rtd, David Eklu, said the objective was to transform the cadet platform into a more effective tool for youth development and school safety.

He said the centre, established about a year and a half ago, had identified the cadet corps as a powerful platform for shaping the mindset of young people and equipping them with basic security and safety skills.

DCOP (Rtd) Eklu said cadets should not be seen merely as young people who marched in uniform, underwent physical drills and participated in ceremonial activities.

“In addition to the marching skills and the physical drills, they need to have that mindset in security awareness, conflict resolution, leadership and emotional intelligence,” he said.

DCOP (Rtd) Eklu, who coordinated the National Cadet Corps while in the Police Service, said the cadets were already present in schools and had the discipline and organisational structure needed to serve as peer leaders and safety ambassadors.

He, however, said they had not been given specialised training that could enable them to support school authorities in preventing violence and other risks.

He said the training would enable cadets to recognise warning signs early, identify situations that could bring young people into conflict with the law, resolve disagreements peacefully and know when to report concerns to the appropriate authorities.

DCOP (Rtd) Eklu said the Yamfo exercise was the third training programme organised in partnership with the National Cadet Corps.

He said the initiative was also part of his retirement engagement to share knowledge acquired from the Police Service and contribute to raising responsible future leaders.

“There is a huge gap in youth development in terms of safety and security.

That is a critical area that the youth need to build right from a young age,” he said.

DCOP (Rtd) Eklu said the ultimate goal was to raise a generation of young Ghanaians who understood that good leadership was preventive leadership, seeing problems early, making responsible decisions, choosing dialogue over confrontation and helping to create safer and more peaceful communities.

Safe communities
The Yamfo Divisional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Thomas Obah, said the Police could not build safe communities alone.

He said safety began with the choices people made every day in schools, homes, on the roads, online and within communities.

ACP Obah urged the cadets to prioritise lessons on recognising warning signs, managing disagreements peacefully, communicating responsibly and making sound decisions under pressure. Participants

Some of the participants who spoke to the Daily Graphic said the training had broadened their understanding of leadership and safety.

They said the emotional intelligence session had taught them how to control their emotions and avoid allowing disagreements to escalate into conflict.

They added that the security awareness training had made them more observant of risks around them and the importance of reporting concerns rather than taking unnecessary risks themselves.

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— Graphic Online