Introduce study of Administrative Justice in training schools - Attafuah

Professor Kenneth Attafuah, a criminologist has proposed to the Ghana Education Service (GES) to introduce the study of basic principles of administrative justice to the teacher-training curriculum.

This, he said, would address the acts of indiscipline and vandalism in schools as a result of “repression and schools mis-governance that leads to disturbances, lawlessness and poor student's performance”.

Prof Attafuah said the high rate of indiscipline in the society must be checked from the schools which required the understanding between the authorities and the students with the latter giving respect to the authority without any mistrust whatsoever.

Speaking on the theme: “Discipline a Road Map for Future Leaders” at the 30th anniversary celebration of the Osino Presbyterian Senior High School, he noted that in ensuring a disciplined society, those in authority must show respect to the views and concerns of their subordinates.

According to him, indiscipline in schools that took the form of students agitation, demonstration and vandalism causing extensive damage to properties, occasionally were reactions to school authorities denial of students access to facilities and services to which they were entitled as of rights without just cause.

He said the relationship between students and administration was often characterized by inadequate integration of principles of natural justice and procedural fairness, communication breakdown, executive high-handedness and trivialization of student's viewpoints or opinions.

Prof Attafuah, who is currently the Executive Secretary of the National Identification Authority (NIA), said courses in education management and sociology all of which embodied thematic concerns relevance for conflict management in curriculum of teacher training institutions were dispersed and uncoordinated.

He said corruption and mis-governance everywhere must be frown upon irrespective of the victims because all those overlooked mistakes were the bases of indiscipline that had engulfed the society and therefore needed concrete efforts to overcome .

Prof Attafuah said with the oil boom, there was the need to train and institute measures that would prepare the grounds for a disciplined society because the students today would be the managers of the economy tomorrow.

He told the students that act of indiscipline such as drug abusing, cyber fraud known as “Sakawa” would only give them a short term glory and a miserable life later.

Prof. Attafuah said his hard work, perseverance and commitment crowned him with discipline and told the students that, the fact that they attended a community school was not an excuse to be irrelevant in the society.

GNA