The Eastern Regional Security Council has ordered the temporary closure of Okuapeman Senior High School and Mount Sinai Senior High School after violent clashes between students resulted in injuries and the burning of school facilities. The incident, which occurred at about 2am on Wednesday, September 2, left six Okuapeman students injured, while several classrooms and other facilities at the two schools were damaged by fire.

Executive Director of the Institute for Education Studies, Dr Peter Anti Partey, said the incident exposed weaknesses in the security systems operating within many senior high schools across the country. The education policy expert argued that the traditional arrangement of relying on watchmen at school entrances no longer provides the level of protection required in today’s educational environment.

Dr Anti Partey explained that schools now need personnel who can gather intelligence, identify emerging threats and alert authorities before conflicts escalate into violence. He noted that waiting until students have already attacked one another or destroyed school property leaves authorities responding after significant damage has occurred.

“We should not always wait for these incidents to happen before the police kick in and an investigation is carried out. By that time, we have lost a lot of materials and infrastructure along the way.”
Dr Peter Anti Partey

The Executive Director emphasised that security personnel in schools should be equipped to identify unusual behaviour and emerging tensions among students before they develop into serious confrontations. He further pointed out that teachers have traditionally been expected to perform several security related responsibilities, particularly housemasters and senior housemasters who monitor students in dormitories.

However, Dr Partey observed that most teachers have not received specialised training in intelligence gathering, conflict prevention or managing serious security threats. He therefore called for a rethink of the security architecture within senior high schools, arguing that teachers should not be placed in situations where their safety could be compromised while attempting to maintain discipline.

According to the Executive Director, properly trained security personnel could gather information from students and other sources and alert school authorities when there are indications of planned violence. Such an arrangement, he suggested, would enable school administrators and security agencies to intervene earlier and prevent disputes from developing into destructive confrontations.

Dr Anti also stressed that effective security should contribute to creating an environment where students can learn without fear of violence or disruption.

IFEST Urges Evidence Based Review Of School Discipline Policies Nationwide

The violent confrontation between students of Okuapeman Senior High School and Mount Sinai Senior High School has renewed questions about indiscipline in Ghana’s senior high schools and how effectively existing policies address emerging challenges.

Executive Director of the Institute for Education Studies, Dr Peter Anti Partey, has cautioned policymakers against quickly assigning causes to student misconduct without first conducting a comprehensive assessment of the factors driving the behaviour. The education policy expert acknowledged that several explanations have emerged, including large student populations, limited communication between students and school authorities and the influence of social media.

He also noted that concerns have been raised about students having inadequate opportunities to express their grievances, potentially creating situations in which frustrations are not addressed before they escalate. However, Dr Partey argued that these factors should be properly investigated before they are adopted as the basis for new disciplinary interventions.

“I would not want to jump into conclusions, ascribing reasons or factors responsible for this indiscipline. Any policy direction that you are proposing should lead to at least a reduction of the challenges we are currently experiencing.”
Dr Peter Anti Partey

The Executive Director therefore urged the Ministry of Education to undertake a comprehensive evaluation of the Positive Discipline Toolkit introduced around 2015 and 2016. He questioned why calls for the return of corporal punishment had gained momentum without a thorough assessment of the alternative disciplinary model that replaced it.

Dr Anti Partey added that such an evaluation should establish whether teachers received adequate support to implement the policy and identify aspects that may have prevented it from achieving its intended objectives. He argued that understanding those weaknesses would enable policymakers to improve existing interventions instead of introducing another system that could encounter similar difficulties.

The education policy specialist further advocated for direct engagement with students and schools to obtain reliable information about the challenges affecting discipline. He stressed that assumptions about the causes of misconduct could lead to policies that fail to address the actual problems experienced within schools.

According to Dr Partey, the education authorities have the capacity and resources to undertake detailed assessments and obtain information from students, teachers and school administrators. Such evidence, he explained, could help determine whether factors such as overcrowding, communication gaps, social media use or weaknesses in disciplinary structures contribute significantly to student misconduct.

The Executive Director consequently urged the Ministry to avoid rushing into new measures following incidents such as the latest school violence. He said a careful assessment of existing policies should precede any major changes, allowing future interventions to be designed around evidence and the realities within Ghana’s senior high schools.