Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has thrown his full weight behind the Ghana Education Service’s (GES) proposed zero-tolerance policy against criminal conduct in schools, declaring that government will not tolerate hooliganism or violence in the country’s educational institutions.
Addressing the National Conference on Stemming the Growing Indiscipline in Schools in Sunyani, the Minister said both President John Dramani Mahama and the government fully support the GES in taking firm action against students whose conduct endangers the safety and security of schools.
“Today, you have my authority and support, and that of the President and the State, to declare zero tolerance for criminal conduct,” Mr. Iddrisu told participants.
He urged the GES to enforce the policy without hesitation, assuring the Service that government would stand firmly behind every legitimate effort to restore discipline in schools.
“You have no excuse not to let it work, and you have our full support to make it work,” he stated.
Mr. Iddrisu stressed that criminal behaviour has no place in Ghana’s educational institutions, warning that tolerating such acts would undermine the core purpose of schools as safe environments for teaching and learning.
“Criminality or criminal conduct should not ever find space in the school environment, and should not ever be tolerated or accommodated,” he emphasized.
According to him, allowing criminal acts to flourish in schools would create an atmosphere of fear and insecurity, making the environment unconducive for effective learning.
“Because when that happens, then it means the school environment becomes insecure and unsafe, and not good enough for learning,” he added.
His remarks come amid growing public concern over rising cases of indiscipline in senior high schools, including gang-related violence, assaults on teachers, and other forms of misconduct that have heightened fears over safety on school campuses.
The Minister’s directive places renewed responsibility on the GES and school authorities to distinguish between ordinary disciplinary offences and acts that constitute criminal conduct requiring decisive action.
At the conference, GES Director-General, Prof. Ernest Kofi Davis, also expressed concern over the changing nature of indiscipline in schools, warning that behaviours once largely confined to tertiary institutions are increasingly emerging in senior high schools.
