The Ghana Education Service is a government agency under the Ministry of Education responsible for implementing government policies that ensure that Ghanaians of school-going age irrespective of their ethnicity, gender, disability, religious and political dispositions receive quality formal education.
The Service (GES) in 2017 officially banned all forms of corporal punishment of children in schools in Ghana as part of its efforts to promote a safe and protective learning environment for children.
The Service then stated that, a Positive Discipline Toolkit which gives alternatives to corporal punishments is to be adopted by all teachers.
Alternative for Caning, GES has approved the following disciplinary measures to ensure discipline in schools;
Writing Lines
The child is given a sentence to write several times over. The sentence should positively reinforce that child’s need and ability to adhere to the recommended forms of behaviour. Draft the sentence the student would have to write and give him/her a deadline for submission of the lines.
Cleaning
This involves students being asked to undertake some form of community service, such as picking litters or cleaning some particular area of the school; but certainly not the toilets. Picking litters, arranging seats in the classrooms and other tasks considered as more sanitation-friendly are preferred to the ones that could expose them to sicknesses. It is very important for a teacher to ensure that the child carries out the sanction.
Designated Seating Position
This involves seating the student right in front of or beside the teacher in order to keep an eye on him/her or to move the student from a position that encourages him/her to engage in disruptive behaviour.
Counselling
With the consent of the student, refer him/her to the school counsellor along with background on the student’s behaviour over time to be counselled. Set appropriate meeting time for the student to meet with the counsellor.
Extra Tasks
This has to do with giving the child extra tasks (e.g. Extra homework). Inform the child about the extra task(s) he/she would be expected to complete. Follow up to ensure the task is completed.
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Withdrawing A Responsibility
Leadership positions and other responsibilities can be temporarily or permanently withdrawn from the child (e.g. position on the school soccer team or prefectship). This is a punitive measure that can ensure conformity.
Letter To Parents
This includes writing letters to the child’s parents/guardians in order to inform them about the infractions or chronic misbehaviours exhibited by the child. Meeting with the child’s parent(s) to assess the child’s behaviour could help to determine the steps to be taken to reform his/her behaviour.
Conclusion
In conclusion, every recalcitrant behaviour that has attracted a sanction or punishment must be recorded in the Student Behaviour Logbook.
This could give credence to the chronological behaviours and punitive measures of such students and could be used as a reference material or even a legal document when the need arises.
This could serve as a deterrent as the child would have the opportunity to alter his/her behaviour in order to avoid reaching the threshold number of entries that could require even more serious sanctions.