The Deputy Public Relations Officer of the National Council of Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA), Irene Sam, has called for intensified efforts to strengthen discipline in second cycle institutions following the arrest of four students of Ada Senior High Technical School over a disturbing viral video.
Speaking on ABC In The Morning on Monday, May 25, 2026, Irene Sam stressed that parents were never completely against corporal punishment, but rather opposed the excesses associated with it.
“Parents were only against the excesses that came with corporal punishment,” she stated during the interview.
Her remarks come after the Ghana Police Service arrested four students of Ada Senior High Technical School following a viral video that allegedly showed one of the students wielding a cutlass and threatening colleagues on campus.
The incident has reignited public debate over discipline in Ghana’s second cycle institutions and the role of stakeholders in maintaining order in schools.
According to Irene Sam, although discipline in schools has not entirely deteriorated, there is the need for continuous and collective efforts to sustain it.
“Discipline has not gotten down, but it needs persistence,” she noted.
She further urged parents, teachers, school authorities and other stakeholders not to become complacent in dealing with indiscipline among students.
“We as stakeholders sometimes we feel so relaxed, this is the time we have to speed up our game and not relent on our effort,” she said.
She added that all necessary measures must be sustained to ensure discipline remains a key priority within the educational system.
“Whatever effort we need to do to make sure discipline is enhanced in our school, we need to continue doing it, and not let our guard down,” Irene Sam emphasized.
