GES condemned for de-boardinising seven Ejisuman SHS girls over viral video

Africa Education Watch has condemned the disciplinary action taken by the Ghana Education Service (GES) against seven female students of Ejisuman Senior High School.

The girls were expelled over the content of a video that went viral on social media last week.

In the video, one of the girls justified having multiple sexual partners and condemned girls who refuse to have sex with men. She then went on to encourage girls to sleep with men, especially if they are offering monetary rewards. Her classmates were seen in the video cheering her on as she made the cringe-worthy comments.

Outraged by the development, the school de-boardenised the girls.

But Africa Education Watch, an NGO, has asked GES to reconsider its decision to expel the girls from the boarding house.

“Punishing the girls by sacking them from boarding school only to place them in hostels without any parental or school control will expose them to further delinquency and harm,” a statement signed by Executive Director of AEW, Kofi Asare said.

Although the GES has justified its action, explaining that the girls breached the Services’ rule which prohibits students from using phones in school, Mr Asare said the de-boardinisation method of punishment does not salvage matters but only makes matters worse.

According to the NGO, although “it is important to sanction students when they breach the rules of conduct in school as a way of instilling discipline and deterring others the GES must note that most of these decisions must be arbitrary, archaic and contradictory.”

In the NGO argues that the mode of discipline against the girls is archaic, backing its stance with article 17 of the African Charter of the Human and Peoples Rights which states that “every individual have the right to education.

“We note that in as much as it is important to sanction students when they have breached the rules of conduct in school as a way of instilling discipline and deterring others the GES must note that most of these decisions must be arbitrary, archaic and contradictory,” the statement from the NGO added.

Although Africa Education Watch admits that the GES has the mandate to groom students to become responsible adults, it believes that adopting positive strategies will best serve the interest of students.

Read the full statement below: