The Executive Director of Child Rights International, Bright Appiah, has called on the Ministry of Education to conduct a comprehensive audit of social systems within schools to ensure proper safeguards for students.

Speaking in an interview on JoyNews’ The Pulse, Mr Appiah stressed that without strong safeguarding structures, the school environment becomes vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.

“If the Minister of Education is interested in this matter, I think that they have to do a proper audit on the social systems of our schools to determine whether we even have the infrastructure to be able to do all these things. On the basis of that, we can recommend that the State must take steps to develop a comprehensive policy that will safeguard the school system,” he said.

He argued that the absence of clear structures allows people to take advantage of students, noting that many adults wrongly assume that once a child is above 16, they can freely give consent in sensitive matters.

“What is actually required when a child attains 16 years is informed consent, meaning the child must fully understand the consequences of their actions before they can be said to consent. It is not enough to simply claim consent and act without responsibility,” he explained.

Mr Appiah believes that strengthening protective systems would help reduce misconduct in schools and protect students from abuse.

His comments follow the dismissal of Mr Charles Akwasi Aidoo, Assistant Headmaster (Academic) of KNUST Senior High School, by the Ghana Education Service (GES) after a viral video showed him fondling a female student.