GES Code of Conduct doesn’t address issues in schools – EduWatch

Despite the Ghana Education Service’s assurance that its code of conduct will instil discipline in students in pre-tertiary schools across the country, Africa Education Watch (EduWatch) says the document does not address school issues.

Kofi Asare, the Director of the Watch in a social media post sighted by Thisterm.com said the content of the document does not address two of the most critical issues that negatively affect the administration of discipline in schools.

“Bearing in mind that these contentious issues very much occasioned the development, and indeed delayed the completion of the document; value addition is regrettably low,” the founder of the education think tank stated.

The Education Policy Analyst added that “Of all the list of unacceptable conduct in schools, one conduct, is not just the most endemic, but a conveyor belt for the other delinquent behaviours-possessing a mobile phone

Offences like exam fraud, pornography, videos, cyberbullying, drugs, sexual offences etc are either fueled, facilitated or reinforced through access to social media via mobile phones.

It beats my imagination why nothing new was added to the sanctions for possessing mobile phones when the GES is aware these same documented ineffective sanctions are the reasons why the decade-old ban has proven woefully ineffective.

If the sanctions for possessing a mobile phone are seizure and the signing of a bond of good behavior, students will sign new bonds every year and still bring new phones.

No wonder the average SHS student has a mobile phone, even though authorities keep seizing it. The maximum sanction has been non-deterrent for over 10 years and won’t deter moving into the future.”

Commenting on dismissal as a punishment, he said “It can take 6 months or more to secure approval for student dismissal. From school management-school board meeting-region-GES Headquarters. This affected the timely administration of discipline and justice.

I know of SHS that had some students in perpetual suspension either because there were no funds to convene board meetings to discuss dismissal requests of management, or they were simply waiting for the Director-General’s advice. In some cases, the advice is received after the student has completed WASSCE.

I was expecting a reduction in the bureaucracy to either School-Region (cc’ed Board) or School-Board-Region. However, the document is dead silent on this major impediment to effective discipline management.

The 2024/2025 edition of the Ghana Education Service (GES) code of conduct Kofi Asare said as a guideline fails to recognize the importance of the distinction between first & repeat offenders and their accompanying sanctions.

“If the 23 pager document I have read is final from the GES, it requires an immediate withdrawal and review for relevance, value addition and quality assurance, as it does not depict one which took three years to develop,” he said.