Renowned retired educationist and former Upper East Regional Director of Education, Robert Ajene, has called on the Ghana Education Service (GES) to restore full administrative powers to school heads to ensure discipline and accountability in educational institutions.
His comments follow recent reports of alleged sexual misconduct involving teachers and students in some second-cycle institutions.
Speaking on the Big Mike Breakfast Show on Tuesday October 8, Ajene said he is not surprised by the recent developments, attributing them to the weakened authority of headteachers in managing schools.
“I’m not surprised at the abuse of girls by teachers in our schools, and especially in the secondary schools. If I compare that time to when I was a headmaster, I had full control over the school, but today, their hands are tied down.”
Ajene criticised the current GES directive requiring disciplinary actions in schools to be sanctioned only by the Service’s national directorate, describing it as counterproductive.
He urged the leadership of the GES to give back full authority to school heads to manage discipline effectively.
“The headmaster should have more power in the school than the Director-General.” Ajene emphasised.
He further called for the Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) to be strengthened and repositioned as a strong advocacy body to champion the cause of restoring full authority to headteachers.
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