Building school climate free of sexual exploitation
Within the span of a week, two separate videos emerged on social media depicting male teachers in inappropriate sexual situations with female students.
These cases are not isolated: they echo broader trends in Ghana, where both formal reports and academic studies reveal that sexual abuse, harassment and coercion of students by teachers and other authority figures remain disturbingly common and normalised in Ghana’s pre-tertiary schools.
The 2022 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey reports that teachers account for about two per cent of perpetrators of sexual violence cases against girls aged 15 to 19.
A complementary study shows that among female secondary school students who reported sexual assault, one in ten identified teachers as the perpetrators.
Such statistics, combined with recurring high-profile cases, underscore the urgent need for decisive policy reforms to ensure that schools remain safe and protective learning environments.
Existing policies
Ghana is not without relevant laws and policies addressing this problem.
Within the education sector specifically, there are policy instruments aimed at protecting students from sexual exploitation by their teachers.
The GES Code of Conduct clearly prohibits staff from engaging in sexual acts or relationships with students.
Section 3.8(c) states that “No employee shall directly or indirectly do anything that may constitute sexual harassment of a pupil/student.”
Another relevant provision includes, “No staff shall have any carnal knowledge of any pupil/student in his/her own school or in any pretertiary educational institution with or without his/her consent.”
In 2023, the Ministry of Education introduced the Sexual Harassment Awareness and Prevention Guideline, which defines various forms of sexual harassment, prescribes sanctions and mandates all pre-tertiary institutions to establish confidential, accessible mechanisms for students to report abuse.
Collectively, these instruments demonstrate Ghana’s policy commitment to a zero-tolerance stance on sexual exploitation in schools.
Gap within system
The existence of these instruments alone is insufficient.
A major challenge lies in ensuring that policy intent translates into everyday lived school culture rather than a procedural requirement.
School leadership rarely prioritises it in routine operations, and the issue is often overshadowed by an overwhelming focus on academic outcomes.
Achieving a genuine zero-tolerance culture requires moving beyond compliance toward institutionalising safeguarding as part of school life.
Such transformation depends on visible leadership commitment at multiple levels – within the GES, school boards, management teams and the parent–teacher associations (PTAs).
These actors collectively shape the culture of vigilance, accountability and protection that defines whether schools become safe learning environments or otherwise.
GES oversight
Strengthening GES oversight is pivotal in ensuring that safeguarding is not merely rhetorical but effectively enforced.
The degree to which schools embrace protective practices often reflects the strength of monitoring and supervision from the national and district levels.
To make oversight more effective, GES should embed safeguarding audits within its school inspection routines.
These audits should not only check for the existence of safeguarding policies but also assess their functionality.
Inspectors must verify whether reporting systems are genuinely confidential and trusted, whether focal persons are active and trained, and whether students are regularly informed about their rights.
Oversight should also explore the underlying social and relational dynamics that enable abuse, such as unhealthy teacher–student boundaries, permissive staff attitudes and cultures of silence.
Detecting such risks demands inspectors trained in child-sensitive interviewing and equipped to ensure confidentiality and appropriate follow-up.
Findings from safeguarding audits must feed into district, regional and national reports that identify patterns of risk and guide targeted interventions.
Transparent dissemination of findings would also reinforce public trust and signal institutional seriousness.
Ultimately, a strengthened monitoring system would communicate a clear message to all teachers and administrators that the system is alert and accountability is real.
Governing for protection
At the school level, the leadership of boards remains critical in shaping the school climate.
School Boards are responsible for setting strategic direction and determining which values are prioritised.
Yet, many boards focus narrowly on academic performance, infrastructure and finances only.
Reversing this requires embedding safeguarding within governance routines.
Boards should make child protection a standing agenda item at meetings, demand periodic safeguarding reports from management and integrate safeguarding indicators into performance assessments.
The institutionalisation of these practices fosters a culture where the well-being and safety of students are central to the definition of school success.
Headteachers and management teams also occupy a frontline role in determining whether a school climate reflects vigilance or complacency.
Their everyday conduct, communication and decision-making shape how teachers and students perceive accountability.
A headteacher who is vocal and consistent in denouncing sexual misconduct sets a tone that leaves no room for ambiguity.
Management must ensure that safeguarding messages are visible and constant.
This can be achieved through regular student education about their rights, frequent staff meetings reinforcing professional ethics, and the display of safeguarding materials in offices and classrooms.
Routine communication of these messages empowers students to report abuse and continuously reminds teachers of their professional obligations and boundaries.
Parental voice
Equally important is the role of the PTAs in reinforcing a culture of zero tolerance.
Parents are often the first to observe changes in their children’s behaviour that may indicate exploitation.
When these concerns are picked up early and raised through the PTA, schools have an opportunity to respond early.
Besides, through the PTA, parents can request information on safeguarding measures, engage in awareness campaigns and ensure that reported cases are followed up appropriately.
The PTA’s collective vigilance helps bridge the gap between the school and community, reinforcing that child protection is a shared responsibility rather than the sole duty of educators.
Conclusion
Creating a protective school climate ultimately requires a shift from seeing safeguarding as an external directive to viewing it as integral to professional duty.
When safeguarding becomes part of the fabric of school operations, visible in routines, evaluations and conversations, sexual exploitation will cease to be normalised, and accountability will be a daily reality rather than an occasional reaction.
The writer ia an Education Research and Policy Analyst
divsonek@gmail.com
