The Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Education, Kwesi Kwarteng, has disclosed that the Ministry of Education has no regret for prohibiting corporal punishment in secondary schools.
In 2017, the Ghana Education Service officially banned all forms of corporal punishments of children in schools in Ghana as part of efforts aimed at promoting a safe and protective learning environment for children.
The rules of professional conduct for teachers in Ghana stipulate among other things that teachers shall not administer any act of corporal punishment including canning.
Four years down the line, the conversation is being revisited, following a hike in school crimes.
The latest is the stabbing and killing of an Odumase Senior High School student.
Voicing out his opinion on the matter, Mr Kwarteng believes the prohibition of corporal punishment isn’t the cause of immoral behaviours in school by students.
He rather argued that implementing such punishments in schools will prevent the country from producing critical thinking students.
“We have no regrets in taking off corporal punishment. In the situation of inflicting physical pain on students, it will not help to produce assertive and critical thinking students. When you check the contribution of caning to child development you will realise the contribution is so insignificant,” he said.
However, Mr Kwarteng revealed that parents and teachers should accept the fact that they have not been playing their role responsibly.
He said, some teachers have decided not to put out any concern about the students’ behaviour because corporal punishment is outlawed in schools.