chrisk.art.blog

Any organisation including the Ghana Education Service, has code of conduct for its staff. Teachers who administer education in Ghana, as part of their professional code of conduct, have their conduct regulated.

The GES code of conduct of teachers in section 3.8 (a) stipulates that physical harm inflicted on pupils/students in any form constitutes a gross violation of the child’s rights.

Subsection (i) says an employee (a teacher for that matter) shall not administer any act of corporal punishment , or any act that inflicts physical pain on the children or causes physical to their pupils/students such as pushing, pulling, hitting and or flogging.

This is despite the acceptance by all that the school as a microcosm of a bigger society will have deviants who will generally break accepted rules in a schools.

When these rules of conducts were being promulgated, the authorities knew the repercussions of an environment which does not punish those who break rules with impunity. It is therefore unthinkable for anyone to accuse school authorities of allowing indiscipline to develop and fester in the schools.

To every action, there is always a reaction. A positive action follows with a reward/motivation whiles a negative one follows with a penalty/demotivation.

Teachers and school heads have lost the ability to act as in punishing negative actions i.e student misconduct and per the policy directive of their employer on corporal punishment and punishment in general.

The pupils are very much aware of this situation and know well their otherwise behaviour will stimulate no negative reaction, so they continue to act with impunity.
This is not an argument calling for the return to corporal punishment in schools, it is to accentuate the fact that teachers and school heads of basic schools are simply religiously adhering to the code of conduct of teachers. It will therefore be out of place to lay blame at the door steps of teachers when students misconduct themselves without any action from school authorities. It is expected as teachers in this present order are deficient of any locus to give out any negative reaction to any pupils’ misconduct or misbehaviour.

What we should be doing is to ask those who took away these capacities from school heads to ensure discipline prevails in our schools to make sure discipline is instilled in the schools for smooth instruction to take place.

Until we all commit ourselves in addressing issues of discipline and the ways in which ruffians in school can be handled, then indiscipline will be rife. And let no one blame teachers for that.

The teacher’s task now is to teach and make sure he conducts exercises for the students. That aspect of school life where teachers served as in locos parentis is no more.

The indiscipline is rife in the schools, from JHS to the SHS but the teachers are just cautious because they also love their families and acknowledge their source of livelihood. They know how vindictive the system has become. Teachers who sought to help correct children have landed themselves into trouble with the system and some even lost their livelihoods.

For this reasons, teachers will remain indifferent to whatever impunity and indiscipline is going on in the schools, just like those who pretend pupils or students are angels and commit no offence for which there must not be consequences.

As a parent, take the behaviour and attitudes of your child in your own hands and make sure you handle them they way it pleases you. Don’t come and blame a teacher when you get a report that another student has meted barbarism on your child.