Removal From GES Council Fueling Indiscipline in SHSs – Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference
Conference says sidelining faith-based organizations in education management is undermining discipline and moral formation_
ACCRA – The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) has expressed deep concern over the removal of its representative from the Ghana Education Service (GES) Council, warning that the development is contributing to growing indiscipline in Senior High Schools across the country.
The Conference says the decision to exclude faith-based organizations from key decision-making structures is unfortunate, especially at a time when concerns about student indiscipline, disrespect for authority and moral decay in second-cycle institutions are on the rise.
President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Most Rev. Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, made the remarks when the Conference met with Parliament’s Chieftaincy, Culture and Religious Affairs Committee.
According to him, although the Catholic Church remains the second-largest provider of formal education in Ghana after government, it has increasingly been sidelined in critical education reforms and governance.
> “It is unfortunate and saddening that as a major stakeholder in education, we have been removed from the GES Council. We believe this exclusion is a factor in the indiscipline we are witnessing in our Senior High Schools today,” Most Rev. Gyamfi told the Committee.
He noted that Catholic mission schools were historically built on strong values of discipline, character formation, academic excellence and service, principles that have shaped generations of Ghanaian leaders. The weakening of that supervisory and moral role, he argued, has created a vacuum.
The Bishops also referenced long-standing grievances over their exclusion from the management of Senior High Schools and the delay in signing a joint Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Education and Mission schools for effective administration.
The GCBC has in the past, together with the Christian Council of Ghana, protested the inauguration of a new GES Council without representation from faith-based organizations, insisting that all critical decisions on education must be done through consensus building with stakeholders.
Most Rev. Gyamfi urged government and the Ministry of Education to reconsider the decision and restore representation of the GCBC and other faith-based organizations on the GES Council and other relevant education policy bodies.
He stressed that addressing indiscipline requires more than punitive measures, but a return to collaborative management where parents, teachers, religious bodies and the state jointly instill discipline and moral values.
The Conference reaffirmed its commitment to supporting government to deliver quality, inclusive and values-based education for every Ghanaian child.
Background:
The Catholic Church manages hundreds of basic and second-cycle schools across Ghana.
In recent years, stakeholders have raised alarm over incidents of student unrest, examination malpractice, attacks on teachers and WAEC officials, and general disregard for school rules, a trend the Church says requires urgent moral and institutional intervention.
