The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) says it is dishonest for deans of discipline to be appointed in schools.
GNAT has stated that it opposes the initiative, which aims to encourage student discipline.
The group claims that there is no evidence to back up the idea that such appointments will significantly lower student indiscipline. Instead of creating new positions like the dean of discipline, GNAT advises putting more resources and influence in the hands of the guidance and counselling coordinators in schools.
They think that these counsellors need to be capable of managing disciplinary matters without calling in additional deans.
On Thursday, July 20, 2023, during an appearance on the mid-day news on Accra 100.5 FM, Mr. Christian Yaw Adinkrah, the chairman of the Madina-Abokobi chapter of GNAT in the Greater Accra Region, expressed his profound disagreement with the decision taken by the Ghana Education Service (GES).
Mr. Adinkrah highlighted that right now, enough funding is the most important requirement to keep the schools operating efficiently.
He made the point that it might not be possible to implement the concept for the dean of discipline without adequate funding and assistance.
Additionally, he emphasised the difficulties instructors experience when dealing with child rights problems, which might prevent them from successfully punishing pupils who disobey rules at school. “Teachers may struggle to carry out their tasks to the best of their abilities due to a lack of resources and the difficulty of dealing with disciplinary issues,” the author continued.
He said that while the concept of having deans of discipline would appear advantageous, GNAT thinks the emphasis should be on fixing resource shortages and making sure that teachers are sufficiently motivated to perform at their best. According to him, this would ultimately help the government’s flagship free senior high secondary school programme succeed.
The GES lamented the current wave of disciplinary difficulties in several universities around the nation in a statement.
It consequently requested that Deans of Discipline be appointed as soon as possible at each institution.
The GES instructed all Regional Directors in a letter signed by Eric Nkansah, its Director-General, to elect Deans of Discipline. “You are now instructed to tell all Heads of Schools that Deans of Discipline will be elected, and to provide the Director-General with a list of all those elected by Friday, June 9, 2023,” the GES wrote.