The General Secretary of the Ghana National Association of Teachers, Mr Thomas Tanko Musah has stated that the Association endorses the directive issued by the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, that bans students from wearing long hair while in school.
Mr Tanko said, the directive is to enable the students focus on their education while in school.
“The Ghana National Association of Teachers, we support the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu 100%. We have gone past this stage,” he said in an interview with Keminni Amanor on TV3’s NewsCentral on October 27.
According to him, “the educational institution is not a party centre, it is a learning institution, so whoever goes there to learn must be ready to play by the rules of the game.
Mr Tanko further explained that “when we are teaching children, we teach them three things- we are teaching the mind, the heart and the hand. It is a holistic education we give the children.”
The GNAT General Secretary noted that the essence of the directive by the Minister is to get the students to focus on the purpose of being in the school.
“There are things that obstruct the learning process. We want them to focus on why they are there,” explained.
It is recalled that on October 25, the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu issued a stern warning against inappropriate hairstyles and dressing among students in the various second cycle institutions in the country.
The Minister at the 75th Anniversary celebration of Mawuli Senior High School in Ho, urged the Ghana Education Service and school heads to take full control of how students behave on campus.
His comments come in the wake of a growing debate regarding whether female students should be allowed to keep long hairs.
“There is an ongoing debate on social media about haircuts -size and length of hairs in secondary schools; we will not tolerate it today, we will not tolerate it tomorrow so long as we are moulding character,” he warned.
“If we give in to hair today, tomorrow it will be shoes and the next day, it will be the way they dress. Therefore, as part of our disciplinary measures, headmasters and GES, you’re accordingly empowered to take full control of how students behave,” the Minister emphasized.
The Minister also reiterated government’s stance against teachers who engage in sexual misconduct with students noting that appropriate sanctions would be meted out to offenders.
“There is a lot of growing indiscipline in our schools, some with even teachers abusing learners; we will not accept that. We will apply heavy sanctions to any teacher who wants to take advantage of a learner.”
Mr Haruna Iddrisu who represented the Vice President, Prof Nana Jane Opoku-Agyemang at the Special Guest for Mawuli school’s 75th anniversary also commended the school for moulding personalities who continue to contribute to the country’s social, political and economic development.
He further indicated that government is committed to providing the necessary infrastructural support to enable the school continue shaping the “head, hearts and hands” of many young Ghanaians who will turn out to become key figures in the nation’s development.
The Minister in furtherance to this pledge, cut sod for the commencement of work on dormitory facility for both male and female students of the school.
