GES Can’t Protect Our Children Child Rights Group Calls for Independent Body

Child Rights International has called for an independent authority to oversee counselling and child protection in Ghanaian schools following allegations of abuse involving more than 19 female students at Obuasi Senior High Technical School.

The organisation says the current child protection arrangements under the Ghana Education Service (GES) are inadequate to protect students and ensure accountability when abuse cases arise.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, October 20, Executive Director of Child Rights International, Bright Appiah, called for the GES counselling unit to be transformed into an independent authority with the power to supervise and oversee child welfare and protection in schools.

He argued that keeping the unit within the GES structure limits its ability to independently investigate concerns and scrutinise how the Service handles abuse cases.

“As we have established, the Ghana Education Service has all kinds of committees to deal with child protection in our schools and we have never seen what they have done yielding any results. So we think that the Ghana Education Service cannot be trusted as an institution to deal with child protection issues.

We think that for children to be able to enjoy their fundamental right to protection, dignity and privacy, there’s a need for the state to begin to rethink how our child protection system should look within our schools,” he said.

Appiah said children deserved a system that placed their safety and rights first, stressing that an independent oversight body would help protect students from abuse while ensuring that complaints were properly handled.

He noted that children must be able to report abuse and seek help without fear that their concerns would be ignored or handled by an institution whose actions may need to be scrutinised.

Child Rights International is also calling for social welfare officers to be deployed to schools to strengthen support for students facing abuse and other welfare concerns.

The organisation further wants the GES code of conduct reviewed to improve existing child protection measures and ensure that school authorities are held accountable when concerns are raised.

According to the organisation, the proposed reforms would create a stronger system for identifying, reporting and addressing abuse in schools. They would also help ensure that complaints involving students receive the attention they deserve.

The calls follow allegations of abuse involving more than 19 female students at Obuasi Senior High Technical School, with the school’s headmaster accused in the case.

The allegations have raised fresh concerns about the safety of students and the effectiveness of existing child protection systems within Ghana’s education sector.

For Child Rights International, the proposed changes are necessary to strengthen accountability and ensure that schools remain safe places for children to learn, grow and develop without fear of abuse.

The organisation believes that an independent authority, supported by social welfare officers and stronger rules, would help make child protection a greater priority across Ghanaian schools.