Former Education Minister and Co-Chair of the New Patriotic Party’s Education Policy Committee, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, has waded into two contentious education debates, rejecting calls for the reinstatement of corporal punishment while advocating a fundamental redesign of the Computerised School Selection and Placement System to accommodate stranded Basic Education Certificate Examination candidates. His dual intervention underscores a philosophy that prioritises restorative discipline and equitable access over punitive and exclusionary practices.
On the question of indiscipline in senior high schools, Dr Adutwum dismissed the clamour for caning as pedagogically retrogressive, arguing that counselling and institutionalised disciplinary frameworks deliver enduring behavioural transformation. He posited that adolescent misconduct often stems from psychosocial stressors requiring mentorship and guidance rather than physical chastisement, which he said offers only ephemeral compliance without cultivating self-regulation and moral reasoning.
The former minister further called for urgent recalibration of the CSSPS to enable unplaced candidates to self-place into available vacancies. He argued that the current architecture, which leaves thousands of qualified learners in limbo after placement, contradicts the principle of free senior high school and squanders human capital. A self-placement module, he contended, would enhance transparency, reduce anxiety among parents and optimise utilisation of existing infrastructure.
The two proposals are linked by a common thread of system strengthening rather than ad hoc fixes. While Ghana Education Service regulations prohibit corporal punishment in favour of suspension, community service and parental engagement, enforcement remains inconsistent. Similarly, the placement system has perennially been criticised for opacity, technical glitches and delayed resolution for unplaced candidates, fuelling public frustration during each academic transition.
Dr Adutwum’s prescriptions, drawn from his tenure overseeing far-reaching reforms in technical and general education, are expected to shape the NPP’s education blueprint ahead of future policy contests. By coupling advocacy for counselling over caning with a demand for CSSPS redesign, he frames quality education as both humane in discipline and inclusive in access, urging policymakers to invest in guidance personnel, digital efficiency and resilient placement protocols.
Author: Korkor Anumu
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