A child rights advocate has urged the Ghana Education Service (GES) to complement disciplinary measures against errant teachers with stronger preventive mechanisms to protect students and promote safe learning environments.

Mr Bright Appiah, a campaigner for children's rights, made the call in an interview on Joy FM's Middaynews on Tuesday, June 16, while commenting on GES's decision to interdict a teacher of Bole Senior High School who was captured in a viral video allegedly engaging in inappropriate sexual conduct with a student.

Read also: Bole SHS teacher under scrutiny over alleged sexual misconduct with final-year student

Mr Appiah questioned whether interdiction was the most appropriate action at the current stage of investigations, stressing that due process must be followed before sanctions are imposed.

“If you look at the code of conduct for teachers, some of these actions can only be administered when they have established a case against the teacher in terms of misconduct,” he said.

Mr Appiah explained that while allegations must be taken seriously, authorities should ensure investigations are completed and evidence established before arriving at conclusions regarding misconduct.

“In the process of investigation, it is a bit difficult for you to come to the conclusion that the teacher can be interdicted on the basis of a mere accusation. You would need to establish that indeed the teacher has engaged in the circumstances surrounding that activity,” he stated.

Mr Appiah noted that beyond disciplinary actions, authorities must pay greater attention to preventive measures aimed at reducing incidents of inappropriate relationships and misconduct in schools.

“For me, it is one leg of it. The other leg is what we also need to look at. It is not always the case that when you establish a code of conduct, the focus should only be on administering punishment,” he said.

He advocated the strengthening of safe school policies to create environments that discourage misconduct and protect students from potential abuse.

“We should also be looking at a safe school policy that will prevent some of these things from happening within the school system so that we do not only focus on punishment but also avoid situations where such incidents occur,” he added.

Mr Appiah further stressed that teachers occupy positions of trust and must uphold the highest professional standards in their interactions with students.

“The position of a teacher is so crucial, and we should not take that for granted. Once you hold that position, you have declared yourself a professional teacher. We expect that you exhibit a level of professional standard in terms of your relationship with students and how you conduct yourself,” he said.