The Ghana Education Service (GES) has raised an alarm over the growing incidence of gang-related violence and serious indiscipline in senior high schools, warning that behaviours previously associated largely with tertiary institutions are increasingly finding their way into SHSs.

Speaking at a national conference on stemming the growing indiscipline in schools in Sunyani, Director-General of GES, Prof. Ernest Kofi Davis, said the nature of indiscipline in schools has changed significantly, with organised gangs, violent fights and attacks on teachers emerging as worrying trends.

He cited incidents at Accra High School, Kinbu and West Africa Senior High School, including a case where a student allegedly mobilised a gang to attack teachers after being turned away from the school.

“The caseload has increased, and we are seeing new forms of indiscipline that we did not see before,” Prof. Davis said.

He attributed part of the problem to the weak implementation of policies developed after Ghana moved away from corporal punishment towards positive discipline in 2017. He specifically cited the Positive Discipline Toolkit developed by the GES and partners including UNICEF, which has been in existence for about eight years.

“We have very nice policies, but I don’t think we have implemented them,” he admitted.

Prof. Davis also identified social media, unrestricted access to information and changing societal values as factors influencing student behaviour. He stressed that parents and the wider society must also accept responsibility, noting that children are often exposed to behaviours from adults that contradict the values schools seek to instil.

He said students are effectively being raised in “two worlds” — one where schools demand discipline and respect, and another where they may see adults disregarding those same values.

He therefore called for stronger collaboration among schools, parents and communities, improved teacher training and counselling services, as well as consistent enforcement of school rules to address the growing challenge.