Loss of control by teachers over students- cause of indiscipline in schools

Published in the Daily Graphic on 3/03/2010, pg 11

Story: Matilda Attram

THE Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Armah Ashietey, has attributed indiscipline in the country’s educational institutions to the loss of control by parents and school authorities over students.
He said majority of parents had lost grip on their children due to neglect and the lack of parental guidance leading to unacceptable behaviours of the youth in the country.
Unfortunately, the world had become a materialistic place where in their bid to get the best of life, some teachers and parents were unable to pay much attention the children, he observed.
As a result, he said the students were left on their own both at home and at school without much control.
Nii Ashietey was speaking at the launch of the 70th anniversary celebration and the Padua Foundation of the Ebenezer Senior High School in Accra.
It was on the theme: ‘Challenges Facing Secondary Education: The Paduan Perspective’.
Apart from indiscipline being a major problem confronting the educational sector, he said lack of commitment of some teachers, poor management and supervision, absence of proper guidance and counselling services, and inadequate infrastructure also contributed to the challenges facing the development of the educational sector.
He said education was a major pre-requisite for societal progress that inculcated a sense of discipline and provided a variety of relevant occupational skills necessary for human resource development.
“Education is of significant importance because it reinforces knowledge and skills acquired and inculcates discipline and selflessness in students,” Nii Ashietey stated.
He pointed out that stakeholders, parents and teachers could help curb the problem if maximum corporation was applied in the upbringing of children.
Nii Ashietey said there was the need for parents, teachers and other stakeholders to devote time, money and other resources to ensure quality education for children.
“The time has come for us to reflect on what went wrong and what has happened to our positive moral values which our grandparents and parents applied in nurturing us into responsible adults,” he noted.
He called on all to contribute to the supervision of children to enable them to become responsible adults in future.
He said, “We should instil in our children confidence and good moral values to make them understand the essence of education”.
The Member of Parliament for Ablekuma South, Mr Fritz Baffour, stated that education was a major element needed for a successful life.
He said education broadened the mind and skills of an individual, which helped him to focus and contribute to the success of others in society.
The Headmistress of the school, Mrs Elizabeth Addo, in her address, indicated that the school since its establishment had produced a number of great personalities who could be found in various sectors of the country’s development.
She mentioned lack of a fence around the school that posed security problems, as well as the inability to complete the visual arts block and structures to accommodate staff, as major challenges facing the school.
Mrs Addo appealed to stakeholders to help build public trust in the students to enhance their value in the development of the nation.
Present at the ceremony were some chiefs of the Ga Traditional Area including the Ga Mantse, King Tackie Tawiah III, and some old students of the school.