School violence in Ghana has moved beyond isolated fights.
In 2025 and into 2026, several Senior High Schools (SHS) recorded violent clashes involving knives, machetes and locally manufactured weapons.
Students sustained serious injuries.
Teachers’ vehicles were vandalised. In some cases, schools were temporarily closed to restore order.
These incidents are not random.
They reflect deeper weaknesses in how we protect the right to safe and inclusive education.
National and partner assessments show the scale of the challenge.
A recent UNDP-supported study in Ghana found that more than half of students in school reported experiencing physical violence or bullying within a year.
Over 50 per cent also reported emotional bullying.
These figures point to a systemic protection gap.
Violence is undermining student wellbeing, academic performance and trust in school leadership.
Teachers are also affected.
There have been reported cases of attacks on staff and destruction of school property during student disturbances.
When teachers feel unsafe, classroom authority weakens.
When students feel unsafe, attendance drops and learning outcomes decline. Fear disrupts the entire education process.
How did we get here?
Many schools operate without a comprehensive code of conduct and anti-bullying frameworks that define prevention, reporting, response and follow-up procedures.
Guidance and counselling units remain under-resourced across several districts.
Overcrowded dormitories in some senior high schools create supervision challenges.
Students receive limited structured training in conflict resolution, mediation, civic responsibility and human rights literacy.
2023 UNESCO Recommendation
The situation stands in direct contrast to the 2023 UNESCO Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights and Sustainable Development.
The recommendation calls on member states, including Ghana, to ensure that education systems promote a culture of peace, respect for human dignity, democratic participation, gender equality and sustainable lifestyles.
It affirms that schools must be safe spaces free from violence, discrimination and intimidation.
The recommendation also stresses a whole-school approach.
This means leadership commitment, teacher professional development, students’ participation, community engagement and accountability mechanisms working together.
It links peace education with human rights education and education for sustainable development, recognising that violence often emerges where exclusion, inequality and weak governance persist.
Ghana has policy foundations to build on. The Education Strategic Plan, the Standards-Based Curriculum, UNESCO Associated Schools and Clubs and child protection frameworks provide entry points.
Civic education structures under the National Commission for Civic Education, human rights oversight through the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice and peacebuilding mechanisms through the National Peace Council offer institutional support. Yet, coordination and systematic implementation remain limited.
National reset
The Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service should align school safety reforms with the UNESCO Recommendation.
Ghana needs a mandatory national framework for school safety, peace education, and human rights education from early childhood through tertiary levels.
Schools should collect and report data on violence and bullying annually to guide policy decisions.
Teacher training institutions must integrate conflict resolution, mediation skills and inclusive classroom management into core curricula.
Each senior high school should have at least one trained counsellor with clear referral pathways.
Students must also be engaged as partners.
Peer mediation clubs, human rights clubs and UNESCO associated schools and clubs can serve as platforms for promoting dialogue, tolerance, and responsible citizenship.
Parents and traditional leaders should reinforce non-violent norms within communities.
School violence does not begin overnight. It grows where systems are weak, rights are not understood and accountability is inconsistent.
If decisive action does not follow, hooliganism risks becoming embedded in school culture.
Education cannot fulfil its mandate under conditions of fear.
The 2023 UNESCO Recommendation provides Ghana with a clear normative framework.
The responsibility now lies with policymakers, school leaders, teachers, parents and learners to translate these commitments into action before the cost to our young people becomes permanent.
The writer is an Education Programme Officer
Ghana Commission for UNESCO.
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh