The Ghana Education Service (GES) has announced plans to strengthen enforcement of regulations prohibiting teachers from asking students to perform household chores at their private residences.
GES Director-General, Professor Ernest Kofi Davis, said the service would issue formal directives to regional directors to ensure that teachers comply with the existing rules barring them from inviting students to their bungalows for domestic duties.
The move follows allegations of sexual abuse at Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS), where headmaster Zakaria Abdulai is accused of raping 19 students.
The case has sparked public concern about student safety and the potential risks associated with learners having informal access to teachers’ residential quarters.
Speaking on the matter, Professor Davis condemned the practice, stressing that it violates the professional standards governing teachers’ conduct.
He cited Section 3.7 (V) of the GES Code of Conduct, which prohibits teachers from requiring students to engage in household chores.
Professor Davis said the service agreed with calls to restrict students from visiting teachers’ bungalows and would communicate the directive to schools to ensure strict compliance.
He further urged regional directors to remind teachers of their professional responsibilities and ensure they familiarise themselves with the relevant provisions of the code.
According to him, asking students to undertake domestic duties at teachers’ residences is unacceptable and contrary to the service’s established regulations.
The GES expects the enforcement measures to strengthen professional boundaries between teachers and students, reduce potential opportunities for abuse and improve safety in second-cycle institutions across the country.
