Public Agenda (Accra)
Kofi Asare
6 November 2009
opinion
New Abrim scored 60, Gomoa 25, Mfantsiman, 30 and so on... But wait a minute there is something more similar to these numbers; apart from they being double digits, they are numbers of basic school girls who were found to be pregnant during this year's BECE.
They either managed to "superimpose" the natal burden with examinations pressure and sometimes poverty or missed out entirely. This is only a tip of the iceberg.
It is estimated that 20% of Ghanaian girls who enroll in Kindergarten do not complete JHS mainly due to pregnancy and other socio-cultural factors. This article will attempt to assess the reasons behind the increasing spate of sexual "violence" in our basic schools and the responsiveness of the existing legal and policy regime to combating sexual "violence" against girls in school.
Pupils are lured into sex as a result of poverty and the promise of an economic token from their would-be assailants, which include teachers. This is especially so in rural areas where life is a simply from 'hand to mouth'. These sexual escapades happen in the full glare of parents, who are unable or unwilling to report such cases, as a result of poverty. They rather find it comfortable to accept some form of compensation in the event that their daughters become pregnant.
It is estimated that less than 50% of sexual violence cases are ever reported. This is why just a single case of sexual violence, especially in the school environment is case enough not to let go. Another factor, which encourages incidence of sexual violence in basic schools, is weak enforcement mechanisms for laws, policies, rules and regulations that exist to protect the rights of girls in school. Criminal behavior will always exist in society subject to the efficacy of the instruments of social control, which includes effective laws.
On one side of the legal and policy regime is the Domestic Violence Act and the Criminal code, 1969 (Act 29) which criminalizes sexual violence and more so violence against girls in basic school. The Education Act and the Teacher's Code of Conduct also exist to regulate the conduct of teachers and education managers/administrators in schools. The question still remains: How effective are these laws and policies in protecting not only the sexual and reproductive rights of girls in school but their educational rights?
The Great Lamptey Mills issue is an example: The man escaped charges of maintenance and induced marriage by opting for an out of court settlement. What about the policies and rules of conduct that exist within the education sector, to protect the educational rights of girls and boys in schools? Are the regulations applicable to him, a private school manager? Has he contravened any of the regulations?
The teacher's code of conduct was revised in 2008 to, include among others, regulations on school-related gender based violence (SRGBV), prime of which is sexual violence. Section 8(c) of the teachers code of conduct states that "Any teacher who has carnal knowledge of any female or male pupil/student of any age, with or without his or her consent shall be guilty of professional misconduct"...which attracts a punishment ranging from reduction in rank, to dismissal. Precise as the teacher's code of conduct may seem in preferring appropriate departmental sanctions against offenders, its application is limited to public school teachers.
The teacher's code of conduct only applies to Ghana Education Service (GES) staff and excludes private schools. In fact, there is no code of conduct for teachers in private schools. This is the complexity in the Lamptey Mills saga. Further, this writer is duly informed that the Great Lamptey Mills Institute is not a member of the Ghana National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS). In the absence of a regulatory mechanism to guide the conduct of teachers in private schools, what are some of the applicable sanctions in the Lamptey Mills saga?
Withdrawal of an operational license of a private school is one of several options available to the GES, in the case of private schools. Section 25(1) of the Education Act, 2008 (Act 778) mandates the Minister of Education, (upon the advice of the district assembly or the national accreditation board) to withdraw the license of a private school if the operations of the school is detrimental to the moral welfare of pupils. This option may be applicable if it is established by the investigations of the GES that Mr. Lamptey Mills is indeed guilty of luring the female pupil in question into bed.
What are the possible outcomes of such a move: Government under this circumstance will have to facilitate the relocation of all pupils in the school to other schools, to ensure the best interests of the children are upheld. How feasible is this? Apart from the fact that pupils of Great Lamptey Mills Institute do not necessarily reside in the environs of the school-Mamprobi, Korle-Bu area, there may be other complexities including choice of school and availability of vacancies.
A school of thought believes that one means by which the best interest of the children can be secured is for Government to take over the management of the school instead of an outright closure. I subscribe to this view except that the legalities involved in such a move are quite unclear. The education Act unfortunately did not make any such provisions, and this is very serious, recognizing the fact that the private sector in education is fast growing and therefore the need to streamline policies and legal provisions in that sector.
The fact is that some 11,500 out of the total 43,000 basic schools (kindergarten, primary, Junior High Schools) in Ghana are privately owned and are patronized by over 1.3 million children in Ghana. Private education is no longer the preserve of the nouveau rich but rather a sin qua non in Ghana's Education for All agenda.
The issues above provide compelling reasons why Section 25 of the Education Act has to be amended now without any delay. A window of opportunity is therefore presented for Parliament to consider inserting clauses that may permit the Government of Ghana to take over (rather than close down) the management of private schools whose operations are detrimental to the moral welfare of pupils and society's interest.
A code of conduct for private school teachers and education administrators has become imperative. The Ghana National Association of Private Schools should as a matter of urgency consider adopting the code of conduct of GES or preparing a code of conduct which should be applicable to all private schools in Ghana.
In the meantime, Civil Society is watching the GES as it battles to bring Mr. Lamptey Mills to book, in the light of the current policy and legislative deficiencies of the educational sector.
The author is a member of Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition.
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