Child Rights International has called for the establishment of an independent authority to oversee counselling and child protection in Ghanaian schools following allegations of abuse involving more than 19 female students at Obuasi Senior High Technical School.
According to the organisation, the current arrangements under the Ghana Education Service (GES) are inadequate to address child protection concerns and ensure accountability in schools.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, October 20, Executive Director of Child Rights International Bright Appiah said the GES counselling unit should be elevated into an independent authority with the power to supervise and oversee child welfare and protection issues.
He argued that placing the unit within the GES structure limits its ability to effectively scrutinise the Service’s handling of abuse cases.
“The Ghana Education Service cannot be trusted as an institution to deal with child protection issues. We think that for children to be able to enjoy their fundamental right to protection, dignity and privacy, there’s a need for the state to begin to rethink how our child protection system should look within our schools,” he said.
Appiah said an independent oversight mechanism would help safeguard the fundamental rights of children, particularly their right to protection, dignity and privacy.
Child Rights International is also calling for social welfare officers to be deployed to schools and the GES code of conduct reviewed to strengthen existing child protection measures.
The organisation believes these changes would provide a more effective system for identifying, reporting and addressing abuse in schools, while ensuring that concerns involving students receive the necessary attention.
The calls follow allegations of abuse against more than 19 female students by the headmaster of Obuasi Senior High Technical School, raising renewed concerns about the effectiveness of child protection systems within Ghana’s education sector.
