A JHS headmaster was in the news
recently for having an affair with his now
SHS student. Three SHS teachers have
had their appointment terminated by
Ghana Education Service for same
offense. In as much as I am ashamed by
their actions and condemn any affair
whatsoever between students and
teachers, we have to also look at where
this began.
I will limit myself to Colleges of Education in
Ghana. This institution is one of the most
poorly supervised but the authorities in this
country know very well it’s in the hands of
students in this institution that we entrust our
younger ones.
It is, therefore, no wonder that teachers at
the basic level especially keep having illicit
affairs with these minors and at worse
impregnate them. Most tutors in the colleges
The Cause
are a law unto themselves.
The teachers in our basic schools and the
secondary schools went to the tertiary to
receive their training. It was common to see
lecturers engaging in illicit affairs with
students. Some lecturers deliberately fail to
They have the capacity to fail or pass you.
And because of that, there is always the
issue of conflict of interest, bias in the
awarding of marks, etc.
use that opportunity to demand sex. The
problem here is that there are no
mechanisms in place to check these
activities of lecturers and so victims are not
able to talk about it to anyone. Students,
however, see these going on without
anything being done about it so consider it
normal. They also practice same when they
get posted to their various schools to teach.
The Way Forward
They are trainers of professional teachers
and must act in a professional manner for
the student teacher to emulate. They,
however, betray their position of trust.
EVERY YEAR, SOME INNOCENT
GIRLS’ FUTURE IS DESTROYED
AS A RESULT OF THE
UNPROFESSIONALISM OF SOME
TEACHERS.
Because sexual harassment in the educational
There is more that can be done to curb setting affects victims who often are minors and
this issue. It is high time stringent perpetrators are in a position of particular authority
measures are put in place to check the and trust, consensual sexual relationships should not
various Colleges of Education. A platform be protected. This highlights the fact that legislative
should also be created for students to language addressing harassment in the workplace,
report lecturers whose habit it is to ask where consensual relationships are protected,
them for sex in exchange for good grades cannot simply be transposed into the educational
and such lecturers dealt with accordingly. setting.
Laws on sexual harassment in the
education setting should prohibit all
sexual relationships between teachers
and students in the same educational
institution. An educator must be dismissed
if he or she is found guilty
"I will end by saying that as teachers we are in a
position of trust; parents entrust the education of
their wards to us believing that we can guide
them to be responsible citizens in the future. We
should, therefore, never compromise on our duty
EXPEDITION | PAGE 2
and destroy the future of our young ones."