Parliament’s Human Rights Committee calls for reintroduction of safe disciplinary measures in SHSs

The Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights has urged the Ministry of Education, the Ghana Education Service (GES) and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) to restore and strengthen safe disciplinary measures in second-cycle institutions nationwide.

The call follows the circulation of a video allegedly showing some teachers of Techiman Senior High School assaulting a student, an incident the Committee has described as disturbing.

In a statement issued on Monday, November 2, and signed by its Chairman, Ernest Yaw Anim, the Committee raised concerns about what it considers a growing pattern of indiscipline in senior high schools involving headteachers, housemasters, teachers and students.

“The Committee takes a strong view of such action, as well as the increasing rate and trend of indiscipline stemming from second-cycle institutions in Ghana,” the statement said.

It emphasised the need for urgent measures to restore acceptable disciplinary standards, warning that the failure to address the situation could undermine Ghana’s efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4, which seeks to promote quality education.

“The Committee believes there is an urgent need for the reintroduction of safe disciplinary standard measures to curb the rising culture of indiscipline,” it stated.

The Committee also highlighted the potential implications for children's rights, citing protections provided under Article 25(1) of the 1992 Constitution, Section 8 of the Children's Act, 1998 (Act 560), and Article 28(2) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Reaffirming its commitment to safeguarding the right to education, the Committee said it remained “deeply committed to preserving the sanctity of Education in Ghana” and ensuring that every individual had access to quality education as a fundamental human right.