The Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has called for zero tolerance for bullying and criminal conduct in schools, saying educational institutions must remain safe spaces for teaching and learning.

He said schools must not condone acts of violence, bullying or other forms of serious misconduct, stressing that discipline remained central to building responsible citizens and national development.

The Minister made the call at a national conference on “Stemming Growing Indiscipline in Schools in an Emerging World,” held in Sunyani in the Bono Region.

The conference brought together education administrators, teachers, parents, traditional and religious leaders, policymakers and other stakeholders to discuss practical measures to address indiscipline in schools.

Mr. Iddrisu expressed concern over reports of students carrying weapons to school, substance abuse and incidents of violence in some educational institutions, saying the trend required a collective response from parents, schools and society.

He observed that children often received conflicting messages from their homes, schools and communities, making it important for stakeholders to work together to promote acceptable standards of behaviour.

The Minister said recommendations from the conference would help shape policies aimed at strengthening discipline within Ghana’s education system.

Earlier, the Bono Regional Minister, Joseph Addae Akwaboa, said education should not only focus on academic excellence but also on character formation, discipline, integrity and responsible citizenship.

He called for stronger parental involvement, effective school leadership, guidance and counselling, mentorship and values-based education to help address indiscipline among learners.

During a panel discussion, the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Prof. Ernest Kofi Davis, said although child-friendly disciplinary measures, safeguarding policies and guidance and counselling systems had been introduced following the abolition of corporal punishment in 2017, implementation remained a major challenge.

He said the growing influence of technology, social media and changing societal values required stronger collaboration among parents, schools and communities to instil discipline and preserve positive Ghanaian values.

A Kenyan educationist, Prof. Fatuma Nyaguthii Chege of Kenyatta University’s School of Education and Lifelong Learning, advocated a whole-community approach to discipline, urging stakeholders to focus on developing self-discipline through guidance, counselling and parental involvement rather than relying solely on punishment.

The conference continued with breakout sessions, during which participants discussed practical measures to address indiscipline in schools.

The preliminary reports from the sessions will be presented and discussed as stakeholders work towards developing recommendations to strengthen discipline in educational institutions.