Sacking 8 Chiana SHS students, denying them their right to education too harsh and unconstitutional-HRRG      

The Human Rights Reporters Ghana (HRRG) has received with shock the decision by the GES to dismiss 8 Chiana SHS students who went viral after spewing vulgar and unprintable words on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2022.

As a human rights group, our position on the decision by the Dr. Eric Nkansah-led GES is that, the decision to dismiss the students is too harsh and does not meet the changing trends in corrective decisions in school behaviour management.

It is like killing mosquitoes with a sledge hammer. These students should not be dismissed.

The HRRG believes the kind of corrective approach used by the GES has the tendency to destroy the future of the students and derail their academic pursuit. It also goes contrary to the spirit and letter of the 1992 constitution which requires all and sundry to enjoy the right to education including these learners whose actions we condemn.

The corrective options available to the GES should not have included the punitive decision to dismiss these young lives and put them through the rather sad emotional stress which is not good for their health and wellbeing.

The HRRG expected the government and the two education-focused institutions of state to place a stronger emphasis on counselling and moral values systems and programmes in our secondary schools to further enlighten students on what constitutes acceptable behaviour.

This unacceptable behaviour of the learners empower the GES to tap into the positives in these leaners and make them change leaders or behaviour change champions.

We further call on the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service to deploy more modern, useful, and forward-looking approaches to dealing with such issues.

The GES should temper justice with mercy in this case and bring these learners back to school.

Thank you.

Signed

Joseph Wemakor
Executive Director
Tel: 0243676813

Wisdom Hammond
Programmes Director
Tel: 0550360658

Read the full statement below: