GES Bans Show-Offs in SHS

The Ghana Education Service (GES) has declared war on lavish post-examination celebrations in Senior High Schools, banning the presentation of expensive gifts such as cars and money bouquets on school campuses.

The action was prompted by social media videos showing parents presenting luxury cars and money bouquets to their children on school premises after the 2026 WASSCE.

Social media has gone awash with videos of parents turning SHS campuses into showrooms. One clip showed a mother presenting her daughter with a Toyota C-HR and a money bouquet on campus to mark her graduation, while another captured a mother returning from the UK after eight years to surprise her daughter with a Toyota RAV4 also on the campuses of another SHS.

A third video showed a student receiving a brand-new Jetour Dashing, valued at around GH¢400,000 from her mother also on another SHS campus, while a father also gifted his daughter a $35,000 brand-new 2026 Hyundai Elantra on her birthday right on the school cpmpound.

Ironically, all the recipients of these lavish gifts are beneficiaries of Ghana’s free secondary school system, funded by the taxpayer: a programme designed to ensure equal access to education, not to fuel displays of privilege.

The ban show-offs directive comes on the heels of the Ministry of Education’s decision to suspend all SHS graduation ceremonies nationwide over growing concerns about the increasing display of wealth at school events.

In a statement dated June 19, 2026, GES expressed concern over what it described as an emerging culture of flamboyant celebrations by some parents and guardians after their children complete secondary school.

According to the Service, some parents have turned school compounds into showgrounds, arriving with luxury vehicles, cash bouquets and other costly gifts to honour their wards.

While acknowledging parents’ right to celebrate their children’s achievements, GES insisted that school premises must not become venues for ostentatious displays.

“Schools are designed to promote social equality where merit and personal effort take priority over economic status,” the statement stressed.

GES warned that such extravagant displays create visible divisions among students, shift attention from academic success to financial privilege, and may cause emotional distress to students from less affluent backgrounds.

As a result, the Service has imposed an immediate ban on all post-examination celebrations involving lavish gifts on school campuses.

“Heads of schools who allow this practice on their campuses will be sanctioned,” GES cautioned.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education has ordered the suspension of all SHS graduation ceremonies nationwide pending a review of existing guidelines for such events.

The Ministry said it acted following widespread public concern over what many see as excessive displays of wealth and flamboyance overshadowing the true purpose of graduation ceremonies.

Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu directed the Director-General of GES to enforce the suspension with immediate effect.

The Ministry emphasised that schools are institutions for learning, discipline and character development, and that graduation ceremonies should reflect modesty, dignity and respect rather than becoming platforms for the exhibition of wealth.

It also condemned any behaviour by students, parents or stakeholders that undermines the educational values such ceremonies are meant to uphold.

Both the Ministry and GES are urging parents and guardians to support the new measures aimed at preserving discipline, equality and the core values of Ghana’s education system.