The Ghana Education Service (GES) has warned teachers against permitting pupils to engage in political activities of any kind.
The Service further warned that the service will punish school heads who allowed their pupils to join in last week’s “won gbo” demonstration, organised by the New Patriotic Party.
Video footage of pupils from the Rev Ernest Bruce School, Mantse Tackie as well as Liberty Cluster of schools singing in support of the NPP demonstration has gone viral on social media.
Speaking during a meeting today of the Mantse Takie Liberty Avenue cluster of schools,Acting Deputy Director General of the GES, Elizabeth Desouza said the actions violate guidelines laid by the service, which prohibit children from engaging in active political activity.
JoyNews’ Kwakye Afreh Nuamah who was at the meeting reports that the teachers sounded very disturbed.
According to him, the teachers fear the consequences, especially following the stern warning from the education ministry.
The teachers insist they did nothing wrong, however.
They explained that the school does not have adequate toilet and canteen facilities and that the children prefer to go outside the school compound to use public restrooms or to find snacks during the break period.
According to them, the children who took part in the demonstration did so during the break period, and when they were off school property.
Kwakye observed also that despite the school possessing walls and gates, there were a lot of openings all over the compound through which the children could sneak off the compound.
As such, it is seemingly impossible for the teachers to control the children involved.
Nonetheless, Ms Desouza informed the teachers that they had failed in their duty to shield the children from politics.
“It is unacceptable,” she proclaimed, adding that “if you all really were concerned…you would have brought those children back.”
She cautioned that parents could have taken legal action against the schools and the education service and admonished the teachers to be more vigilant.
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