By Mavis Paintsil
Child Rights International (CRI) has urged the Ghana Education Service (GES) to urgently review its entire educational framework to make it child-centred.
The organisation says the current system prioritises academic performance over the rights, safety and holistic development of children.
Executive Director of CRI, Mr Bright Appiah, said Ghana’s education must shift from an adult-imposed model to one that listens to and protects children.
“The best interest of the child must be at the heart of our education. What we have now is a system that burdens children, not one that builds them,” he said.
Mr Appiah said many pupils continue to suffer from excessive homework, long school hours, corporal punishment, bullying, and a lack of counselling and child protection systems, despite existing GES directives.
He said a true child-centred review should guarantee children’s right to participation, protection from all forms of violence, adequate rest and play, and access to inclusive, safe and friendly learning environments.
He called on GES to involve children, parents, teachers and child rights organisations in any review of its curriculum and disciplinary policies, and to ensure that no reform undermines the physical and mental well-being of learners.
According to him, special attention must be given to vulnerable groups, including children with disabilities, girls, and children in hard-to-reach communities.
“We cannot claim to be providing quality education when the environment itself is hostile to the child. Discipline should not be about fear, learning should not be about trauma,” he added.
CRI has therefore called for an immediate enforcement of the ban on corporal punishment, provision of trained counsellors in all basic schools, and establishment of confidential reporting channels for abuse in schools.
The organisation reaffirmed its commitment to championing the rights of every Ghanaian child to quality, safe and dignified education.
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