Dr Apaak Blames Social Media For Student Indiscipline
The Deputy Minister of Education, Dr Clement Apaak, has linked the surge in student misconduct across Ghana to the corrosive influence of social media, mobile phone abuse, and the proliferation of narcotics and unapproved substances. His remarks come in the wake of an alleged assault on the headmaster of Obuasi Senior High Technical School in the Ashanti Region by students acting on claims that a baby’s body had been buried on campus.
Apaak told Eyewitness News that digital exposure was normalizing aberrant conduct among adolescents. He argued that unregulated access to graphic and violent content was fostering a perception of impunity. “Students are able to see all manner of behaviours, no matter how condemnable and abhorrent, both from within the jurisdiction and beyond. And somehow they begin to get a feeling that they can also act in such manners and get away with it,” he stated.
The Deputy Minister broadened the diagnosis beyond digital spaces, citing peer dynamics and substance consumption as compounding variables. He expressed alarm at the growing use of narcotics and concoctions disguised as energy drinks, warning that such substances were impairing judgment and inciting aggression. According to him, the phenomenon is not confined to senior high schools but is manifesting across junior high and tertiary institutions as well.
In response to the Obuasi incident, the Ministry of Education has directed the Ghana Education Service to shut the school temporarily and commence a full inquiry. The Ministry reiterated that perpetrators would face statutory sanctions. Dr Apaak also called for a recalibration of parental oversight, urging guardians to resist the reflex to defend students indiscriminately and instead collaborate in instilling discipline.
He concluded that Ghana’s educational architecture must integrate moral formation alongside academic rigor to inoculate learners against corrosive external influences. The unfolding case at Obuasi SHTS underscores the urgency of coordinated interventions spanning schools, families, regulators, and digital platforms.
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Source: CitiNewsroom
Author: Korkor Anumu
