The government has been urged to do away with the boarding system in public schools by Professor Stephen Adei, a former rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA).
He issued a warning that the system is encouraging students to develop social vices.
His remarks follow the viral video of an Adisadel College student in Cape Coast assaulting a classmate over a cellphone sim, which resulted in the student’s suspension.
Professor Adei expressed concern about the prevalence of social vices in boarding schools during an interview on the Asaase Breakfast Show.
With the introduction of free Senior High School (SHS) education, he claimed, the conventional boarding system is no longer relevant.
Professor Stephen Adei contended that the current educational environment, with the implementation of free SHS, warrants a reevaluation of the boarding system’s role, while acknowledging the value of boarding schools in training a select group of elites in the past.
Prof. Stephen Adei said, “Once we have reached a certain level, boarding school as a public means of education is a no, no. I tell you at this moment that people in boarding schools are likely to pick more anti-social things, including lesbianism and occultism, than before.”
The recent incident at Adisadel College, where two students got into a physical altercation over a mobile phone sim, emphasizes the possible drawbacks of the boarding system.
In response to the incident, the school administration swiftly suspended the involved parties.
Concerns about the prevalence of social vices and indiscipline among students are the motivation behind Professor Adei’s call for the elimination of the public school boarding system.
He promotes a change to localized education, which he thinks might be a better strategy in the current educational environment with free SHS.
Relatively, Child Rights International Ghana is requesting that Adisadel College’s administration reverse its decision to suspend students who were involved in a school-related assault.
The suspension imposed on the students involved in the incident, according to Child Rights International, is severe and needs to be lifted.
Child Rights International also demanded that the incident be thoroughly investigated in order to address its criminality.
