Grave Incidents of Student Violence at the Zonal Athletics Competition: Students involved in assault or violence will face severe disciplinary sanctions – Central Regional Director of Education.

The Regional Education Directorate has received and carefully reviewed video recordings circulating on various media platforms depicting acts of violence committed by some students during the recently concluded Zonal Senior High School Athletics Competitions in the Central Region.

The incidents captured, showing students physically assaulting their colleagues, are deeply disturbing, reprehensible, and wholly unacceptable. School sporting activities are organised to promote unity, discipline, teamwork, sportsmanship, and healthy competition. Any conduct that undermines these noble objectives and compromises the safety and well-being of learners fundamentally defeats the purpose for which such events are held. Let me state, without equivocation, that violence in any form has no place in our schools or at school-sponsored programmes.

For the avoidance of doubt, such conduct is in direct violation of the provisions of the GES Code of Conduct for Students during Sporting Activities, as stipulated by the Ghana Education Service, which explicitly requires students to demonstrate discipline, sportsmanship, self-control, and respect for fellow participants at all times during school competitions and related events.

Additionally, attention is hereby strongly drawn to the existing GES policy governing the supervision of students when they are sent outside the school premises for approved programmes, which clearly stipulates a supervision ratio of twenty (20) students to one (I) teacher.

Further, it requires that designated teachers remain with the students throughout the entire duration of the programme and properly escort them back to the school upon its conclusion. This provision is mandatory and non-negotiable, and any deviation from it constitutes a serious breach of Ghana Education Service regulations.

Management, in collaboration with the Heads of the affected schools and the respective District Directors of Education, has commenced thorough investigations into the reported incidents. The objective is to establish the full facts surrounding each case and to identify all persons involved. These investigations will be conducted with utmost thoroughness, impartiality, and objectivity.

The Ghana Police Service has been formally notified, and the matter is receiving the necessary attention. Students found to have engaged in acts of assault or violence will not only face severe disciplinary sanctions under the applicable Ghana Education Service regulations, including the GES Code of Conduct for Students during Sporting Activities and the supervision policy governing external programmes, but will also be subject to criminal proceedings where their actions constitute offenses under the laws of the Republic of Ghana.

Assault and related acts of violence are criminal in nature, and any conduct that meets the threshold of criminality will be treated as such. No student found culpable will be shielded from the full consequences of his or her actions.

Management will not stand aloof while such misconduct threatens the safety of folk dances and tarnishes the reputation of our educational institutions. Acts of indiscipline, mob action, and physical aggression, particularly during programmes intended to foster unity and healthy interaction, will attract decisive and exemplary sanctions in accordance with established regulations.

In view of the seriousness of this matter, all I lead of Senior High and Senior High Technical.

Schools in the Region are respectfully directed to:

Brief both staff and students on this development and unequivocally reinforce the school’s zero-tolerance policy on violence, with explicit reference to the GES Code of Conduct for Students during Sporting Activities and the mandatory 20:1 teacher-student supervision policy for off-campus programmes.
Strengthen supervision, security coordination, and risk assessment measures during all school programmes, especially sporting and inter-school activities conducted outside school premises.
Ensure strict compliance with the requirement that designated teachers remain with students throughout such programmes and duly escort them back to school.
Intensify guidance and counselling interventions aimed at promoting sportsmanship, emotional regulation, peaceful conflict resolution, and responsible conduct in line with the expectations of the Ghana Education Service.
Ensure that any incident of violence is promptly reported, thoroughly documented, and addressed strictly in accordance with established procedures and the relevant Code of Conduct provisions.

We must, collectively and with due responsibility, safeguard the integrity, safety, and moral authority of our educational institutions.

Our schools must consistently remain secure, orderly, and conducive environments that promote effective learning, sound character formation, and the holistic development of every learner.

Respectfully, your full cooperation, sustained vigilance, and decisive leadership in addressing this matter are not only expected but required.

Grave Incidents of Student Violence at the Zonal Athletics Competition: Students involved in assault or violence will face severe disciplinary sanctions – Central Regional Director of Education.