Abolishing Corporal Punishment Not Reason for Indiscipline, Poor SHS Performance – Dr Adutwum

Former Education Minister Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum has rejected claims that the abolition of corporal punishment in Ghanaian schools is responsible for rising indiscipline and poor academic performance among Senior High School (SHS) students.

According to Dr Adutwum, the argument that students are no longer performing well because teachers have been prevented from caning them is not supported by concrete evidence.

Speaking in an interview with Kwame Tanko on the Ghana Se Sen Morning Show on Lawson TV/Radio, he argued that corporal punishment, as practised by some teachers, sometimes went beyond discipline and amounted to brutality.

He explained that comparing students’ academic performance before and after the abolition of corporal punishment shows that the absence of caning has not necessarily resulted in declining academic outcomes.

Dr Adutwum cited WASSCE performance figures to support his argument.

He noted that in 2015, when corporal punishment was still widely practised, the percentage of students who obtained grades A1 to C6 was 50.29% in English, 25.29% in Mathematics, 23.63% in Integrated Science and 51.34% in Social Studies.

However, he said that by 2023, when critics claimed there was no discipline in schools because corporal punishment had been abolished, performance had improved significantly, with 73.11% in English, 62.23% in Mathematics, 66.62% in Integrated Science and 76.76% in Social Studies.

He therefore maintained that the data does not support the claim that the abolition of corporal punishment has caused poor academic performance.

Dr Adutwum further argued that the Free SHS policy under the NPP government produced better academic results compared with periods that critics describe as having greater discipline because corporal punishment was permitted.

‘We Had Discipline Without Caning’

Sharing his personal experience as a student, Dr Adutwum said there was discipline in his days at Jachie Pramso SHS and Kumasi SHS, despite the absence of caning.

He stressed that discipline can be achieved through other effective measures without subjecting students to physical punishment.

Calls for Retired Teachers to Support Education

Dr Adutwum also proposed that retired teachers who have experience as examiners should be offered post-retirement contracts to help strengthen Ghana’s education system.

He said advanced countries have adopted similar approaches by retaining experienced educators after retirement to contribute their expertise to teaching, assessment and other areas of education.

‘Did They Cheat in Social Studies?’

Responding to claims that students performed well during the NPP administration because they were allegedly allowed to cheat, Dr Adutwum questioned whether the same argument could now be applied to the current government following strong performance in Social Studies.

He asked whether critics would also claim that students cheated simply because they performed well.

Teacher Shortage Affecting Students

On the challenges affecting students’ academic performance, Dr Adutwum raised concerns about the shortage of teachers in schools.

He claimed that there are currently about 30,000 classrooms without teachers, leaving many students without adequate access to teaching.

According to him, Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu told Parliament that the ministry required about 50,000 teachers, but only 7,000 teachers had been given clearance.

Dr Adutwum argued that addressing the teacher shortage should be a major priority if Ghana wants to improve academic outcomes and ensure that students receive the quality education they deserve.