We Have All Failed as a Society - PTA General Secretary on Rising School Indiscipline
Ghana’s growing crisis of indiscipline in senior high schools is not a failure of students alone – it is a mirror reflecting the collective shortcomings of parents, teachers, and the wider society, according to the General Secretary of the National Council of Parent-Teacher Associations.
Gapson Kofi Raphael, speaking on Joy FM’s News Night programme on Thursday, offered a sobering assessment of the wave of violence and misconduct that has swept through the country’s secondary schools in recent months. More than a dozen documented cases of student unrest have been recorded, prompting alarm among education officials and the public alike.
“Every society reflects the kind of training, character formation, and behaviour that we either condone quietly or repeat openly. When society grows, our children reflect what is happening around us. It tells us we all have a lot of work ahead of us,” Mr Raphael said.
When pressed on whether the current situation amounts to a collective failure, he was unequivocal. “Of course. If we haven’t failed, we won’t be discussing this issue. It has become a major concern that we must all acknowledge and address.”
The comments come against the backdrop of a national education system already under enormous strain. Ghana faces a shortfall of between 50,000 and 90,000 teachers across its schools, yet the government has budgetary clearance to recruit only 7,000 this year – a mismatch that Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu has himself described as untenable. Overcrowded classrooms and overstretched staff create environments where behavioural problems can fester unchecked.
The financial pressures feeding into the education crisis run deeper still. Earlier concerns were raised when it emerged that the government was diverting 42 percent of the Ghana Education Trust Fund’s budget to feed senior high school students, a practice that critics say starves the system of investment in infrastructure, teacher training, and the very pastoral support structures that could help manage student conduct.
Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu has acknowledged the gravity of the situation, describing student misconduct as one of the most pressing challenges facing the sector. He has pledged that the government will make combating indiscipline a priority in 2026 and will convene a national stakeholder conference to develop lasting solutions.
For Mr Raphael, however, policy pronouncements must be matched by a fundamental shift in how Ghanaian families and communities approach character formation. The challenge, he suggested, extends well beyond the school gate. In homes where respect, responsibility, and restraint are not modelled by adults, no amount of school regulation can fill the void.
The call for collective responsibility is not new, but the urgency has intensified. Schools that were once regarded as sanctuaries of discipline and academic focus have increasingly become sites of confrontation. Videos of student protests, property destruction, and violent clashes between students and authorities have circulated widely on social media, fuelling a public debate about whether the education system is producing citizens or merely certificate holders.
The proposed national stakeholder conference represents an opportunity to move beyond reactive punishment and toward a more holistic framework for discipline – one that involves parents as active partners, equips teachers with behavioural management tools, and addresses the socioeconomic pressures that contribute to student frustration.
Whether that conference produces meaningful reform or merely another set of communiques remains to be seen. But as Mr Raphael made clear, the starting point must be an honest reckoning with the fact that no single institution or actor bears the blame alone. Ghana’s children, he argued, are simply reflecting the society that raised them.
Image Source: MYJOYONLINE
