The National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) has attributed the increasing unruly behaviour in schools to the restrictions imposed on teachers regarding student discipline.
This follows the arrest of a final-year student of O’Reilly Senior High School who stabbed his colleague to death on Monday, September 2, 2024, after a misunderstanding.
President of NAGRAT, Eric Angel Carbonu, stressed the need for school authorities to have the autonomy to enforce discipline in students to prevent such tragic incidents.
“Unfortunately, whenever teachers want to exact conformity rules, then a certain group of people who talk about human rights assume the teacher does not know what human rights are.
“Sometimes when we go and take some financial support from some bunch of financial NGOs, then we forget that we need to establish rules and regulations that are akin to the reality of our environment.
“Don’t do this. Don’t do this. When you talk to the student like that, you are creating psychological injury to the student. So, as if to create the impression that whenever the students goes wrong, we should kiss them, pat them on the back and tell them that they can continue. So, the school environment is continuously becoming a place where students are beginning to become unruly,” he said on Citi News.
READ ALSO: O’Reilly Student ‘Killer’ Arrested
The deceased identified as 18-year-old Edward Borketey Sackey, a final-year Visual Arts student was stabbed multiple following an argument.
The altercation reportedly began as a heated exchange over who was wealthier, escalating into a physical fight.
According to a cousin of the deceased, who is also a student at the school, the fight initially seemed trivial.
“He had a paper in the morning and came to me that he was done with his paper. A few minutes later we heard some noise at the back and we asked what was wrong and they said it was Godwin and Edward fighting. I asked what’s the fight about and they said it was nothing serious.
“The whole thing was about, ‘you, what do you have? I have this and that, you’re lying’. That was what brought the fight. So, I thought the whole thing was nothing.
“A few minutes later, the Godwin guy came up to me and asked me to warn my brother or else his blood will flow and I told him it has not gotten to that,” she narrated.
She added that Edward sought help from some teachers in the school when the fight escalated but they ignored him.
Meanwhile, the father of the deceased has accused the teachers of negligence.
He said neither the school administration, the attacker’s family, nor the police have reached out to them regarding the incident.
NAGRAT’s call for stronger disciplinary powers comes amid growing concerns about safety and discipline in schools.
The association urges policymakers to reconsider the restrictions that limit teachers’ ability to maintain order.