My Kwame Nkrumah

 Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng writes:

*My Kwame Nkrumah*

 *Jul - 16 - 2024 , 12:35*

Nana Kwame Appiah, my grandfather, was the Adontenhene of Toase in Atwima Nwabiagya District of the Ashanti Region when the famous Chief Owusu, the father of the equally famous Nana Akwasi Agyeman, was the Chief of Toase.

Nana Kwame Appiah was a diehard UP supporter. He bought a Peugeot Caravan for the party. As far as I can remember, certainly from the age of four, he told us about the United Party and mentioned names such as Baffour Akoto, Kofi Busia, Chief Dombo, B.F. Kusi and many more.

I did not hear anything positive about the "CPP". This was how he called Nkrumah’s CPP. The whole extended family followed our Patriarch and became members or sympathizers of the United Party and its traditions.

Later on in life, I began to appreciate the works of Kwame Nkrumah. I believe that Nkrumah should be seen not only in terms of the physical things he built, which were massive and no one else comes near him, but also in terms of how he affected human lives.

Undoubtedly, he was the most important person in the fight for Ghana’s independence and also mentored several African leaders fighting for independence in their respective countries. He brought hope to the Black people everywhere on the globe.

Nkrumah championed the concept of African Personality when he declared that: "The African must assert his own personality and develop according to his own ways of life, his own customs, traditions and culture."

I do not like everything Nkrumah did. But then, I do not even like everything I do myself. Such is the fallibility of man.

During Nkrumah’s reign, Ghanaians were respected throughout the world. Ghanaians who studied abroad returned home immediately after their studies to take up positions to help build Ghana with a sense of pride. Sub-Saharan Africans abroad all portrayed themselves as Ghanaians. Everybody was proud to be associated with Ghana.

Ghanaians were held in high esteem throughout the world. Unlike today, when young Ghanaians are struggling to travel abroad to seek greener pastures because of harsh economic conditions, due to corruption and mismanagement. Nobody dared to lay his hand on a Ghanaian. In our days, we have witnessed the slaying of Ghanaians in many parts of the world, including The Gambia and Nigeria.

Nkrumah did all he could to eliminate tribalism and promoted loyalty to the State of Ghana. This position is exemplified by a statement he made in his book, Africa Must Unite: "We were engaged in a kind of war, a war against poverty and disease, against ignorance, against tribalism and disunity. We needed to secure the conditions which could allow us to pursue our policy of reconstruction and development."

Through the Ghana Education Trust, Nkrumah established secondary schools in all parts of Ghana. This enabled poor children, including me, to access secondary education.

Again, Nkrumah established the Ghana Medical School against all odds and made it possible for me and thousands of Ghanaian young women and men to be trained as doctors in Ghana. The vital role that doctors trained in Ghana have played in the development of Ghana is evident to all.

Kwame Nkrumah established the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) to develop and promote the peaceful utilization of nuclear, biotechnology, and other related technologies for socioeconomic development through research, training, and commercialization, and also to advise the government on policies related to the peaceful applications of these technologies.

Although GAEC has had a chequered history through coup d'état, misrule, political ignorance, and neglect by governments, through its institutions such as the Biotechnology & Agricultural Research Institute (BNARI), Ghana Space Science & Technology Institute (GSSTI), Graduate School of Nuclear & Allied Sciences (GNAS), National Nuclear Research Institute (NRI), Nuclear Power Institute (NPI), Radiation Protection Institute (RPI), Radiological & Medical Sciences Research Institute (RMSRIS), it has advanced to become one of the scientific and research institutions spearheading the development of this country.

Kwame Nkrumah established the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences, Cape Coast University and the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Komfo Anokye Hospital.

Nkrumah did not have a sufficient number of technocrats – doctors, engineers, architects, scientists, etc. and the greatest of all tools, the computer, the internet, G.P.S, scanners, mobile phones, etc. were not available. But, think about what he did with the little that was available to him. 

Factories and Industries: State Boatyards Corporation, State Brick and Tile Corporation, State Cannery Corporation (Nsawam), State Cocoa Products Corporation, State Distilleries Corporation, State Electronic Products Corporation Sanyo factory, (Tema), Glass Manufacturing Corporation, State Marble Works Corporation, State Paints Corporation, Sheet Metal Works Corporation, State Textile Manufacturing Corporation Akosombo, GIHOC Nzema Oil Mills Company Limited, GIHOC Vegetable Oil Mills Company Limited, Tema Food Complex Corporation (TFCC), Fibre Bag Manufacturing Corporation (Kumasi Jute Factory), Kwame Nkrumah Steel Works Corporation, Paper Conversion Corporation, State Footwear Corporation (Kumasi shoe factory), Sugar Products Corporation (Komenda & Asutuare), State Advertising Company, GIHOC Bottling Company Ltd, GIHOC Pharmaceuticals, GIHOC Paper Conversion Co. Ltd., GIHOC Printing & Paper Products, GIHOC Refrigeration and Household Products Ltd., Mosquito Coil Co Ltd, Abosso Glass Factory, Zuarungu Meat Factory, Wenchi Tomato Factory, Kade Match Factory, Akosombo Textiles Limited, Pwalugu Tomato Factory, Tarkwa Bonsa Tyre Factory, Bolgatanga Rice Mill Factory, Cocoa Silo, Tema were all built by Nkrumah.

Nkrumah built State Owned Enterprises and Other Projects including: Ghana Black Star Line with 15 ships, Bank of Ghana (BoG), Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB), Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), National Investment Bank (NIB), State Insurance Company (SIC), Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), Ghana Oil Company (GOIL), Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GHAPOHA),

Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), The National Management and Productivity Institute, Ghana Film Industries Accra, Ghana Airways Corporation, Afienya Gliding School, Ghana National Trading Corporation (GNTC), Cocoa Marketing Board (COCOBOD) and VALCO.

Housing and Hotel Projects: In Accra (Labone Estate, Kanda Estates, Osu Ringway Estates, Airport Residential Area); In Kumasi (Patasi Estate, Kwadaso Estate, Buokrom Estates, North and South Suntreso); Tema Township (Communities), Army Barracks – Tema, Army Barracks – Sunyani, Tamale Air Field, Army Officers Bungalows – Burma Camp, Air Force Quarters on the way to Burma Camp, YWCA, New Government Transport Terminal – Kumasi, New Government Transport Terminal– Accra, Black Star Square, Block of Flats for Volta River Authority, High Rise Office Blocks for the Income Tax,  Police Headquarters, Prison Warden Quarters, Police Quarters at Tesano, Airport and Mamprobi, New Judges Bungalows, Larterbiokorshie Flats and Peduase Lodge.

Hotels (Star, Meridian, Ambassador, Continental now Golden Tulip Accra, Atlantic, City Hotel Catering Rest Houses now Golden Tulip Kumasi).

Other projects: Ghana Museums, Ghana Film Corporation, Ghana News Agency, Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, Akosombo Dam, Accra (Kotoka) International Airport (paradoxically named after the person who overthrew him), Accra-Tema Motorway, Tema Harbour and Adomi Bridge.

Kwame Nkrumah wrote several books:

1.Negro History: European Government in Africa, The Lincolnian, 12 April 1938, p. 2 (Lincoln University, Pennsylvania) - see Special Collections and Archives, Lincoln University

2.Ghana: The Autobiography of Kwame Nkrumah (1957) ISBN 0-901787-60-4

3.Africa Must Unite (1963) ISBN 0-901787-13-2

4.African Personality (1963)

5.Neo-Colonialism: the Last Stage of Imperialism (1965) ISBN 0-901787-23-X

6.Axioms of Kwame Nkrumah (1967) ISBN 0-901787-54-X

7.African Socialism Revisited (1967)

8.Voice From Conakry (1967) ISBN 90-17-87027-3

9.Dark Days in Ghana (1968) ISBN 0-7178-0046-6

10.Handbook of Revolutionary Warfare (1968) - first introduction of Pan-African pellet compass ISBN 0-7178-0226-4

11.Consciencism: Philosophy and Ideology for De-Colonisation (1970) ISBN 0-901787-11-6

12.Class Struggle in Africa (1970) ISBN 0-901787-12-4

13.The Struggle Continues (1973) ISBN 0-901787-41-8

14.Speak of Freedom (1973) ISBN 0-901787-14-0

15.Revolutionary Path (1973) ISBN 0-901787-22-1

None of the detractors of Nkrumah has written a single book.

There were at least 8 attempts on his life in the following locations: Dodowa Vilas, Railway Station Annex, UAC Motors, Accra Stadium, Kumasi Assembly Hall, Flag Staff House, and Kulungugu and around the main ministries in Accra.

Nkrumah is dead and gone.

However, he has relatives and children, and the legacy of Nkrumah, a global icon, must be respected.

*Nkrumah’s greatness and his unparalleled contribution to Ghana and Africa were sealed when, in the year 2000, he was voted African Man of the Millennium by a BBC World Service listeners’ poll.*

*Asɛm asa!*

******************************************

The author, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, is a Ghanaian Physician and Cardiothoracic Surgeon. He is also a former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation.

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Digitalisation Of Teacher Promotions In Ghana: Progress Or Problems?

The gradual digitalisation of teacher promotions in Ghana has become one of the major reforms within the Ghana Education Service in recent years. From online registration to computer-based examinations and electronic processing of promotion results, technology is steadily changing how teachers advance in their careers.

Supporters of the system believe digitalisation has brought speed, transparency, and efficiency. However, many teachers also complain about technical difficulties, poor communication, network challenges, and frustrations associated with the process.

This raises an important question: Is the digitalisation of teacher promotions in Ghana truly solving problems, or is it creating new ones?

The Shift From Manual To Digital Systems:

In the past, many promotion-related activities were handled manually. Teachers often travelled long distances to district or regional offices to submit forms, verify documents, or check promotion lists. The process was slower and sometimes vulnerable to favouritism, missing records, and delays.

Today, many aspects of the promotion process are becoming digital. Teachers can now:

Register online

Receive examination updates electronically

Access promotion portals

Track certain processes digitally

Write computer-based examinations in some cases

The goal is to modernise the system and reduce unnecessary paperwork and delays.

The Benefits Of Digitalisation:

1. Faster Processing

One major advantage of digital systems is speed. Information can be processed more quickly compared to manual systems. Results and updates can reach teachers faster through online platforms.

2. Improved Transparency

Digital records can reduce manipulation and favouritism. Once information is properly entered into a system, it becomes easier to track promotions and verify teacher data.

Many teachers believe this can help reduce cases where deserving candidates are ignored unfairly.

3. Reduced Paperwork

The use of online systems reduces the burden of carrying physical documents from one office to another. This saves time, transportation costs, and stress.

4. Better Record Keeping

Electronic databases make it easier to store teacher information for future reference. Missing files and misplaced documents may become less common.

The Problems Teachers Still Face:

Despite the advantages, many teachers continue to experience serious challenges with the digital promotion process.

1. Poor Internet Connectivity

In many rural communities in Ghana, internet access remains unreliable. Teachers in remote areas often struggle to complete online registration or access important updates.

Some are forced to travel to nearby towns simply to use internet services

2. Technical Errors And System Failures

Teachers frequently complain about:

Portals not opening

Failed submissions

Login problems

Missing records

Slow websites during deadlines

When systems fail close to registration deadlines, anxiety and frustration increase among candidates.

3. Limited Digital Skills

Not all teachers are technologically confident. Some older teachers especially find online systems difficult to navigate without assistance.

This creates dependency on internet café operators or colleagues, sometimes leading to mistakes during registration.

4. Poor Communication

Another major complaint is inadequate communication from authorities. Teachers often rely on social media rumours because official updates may arrive late or remain unclear.

This confusion sometimes causes candidates to miss deadlines or important instructions.

5. Financial Burden

Although digitalisation is supposed to simplify processes, many teachers still spend money on:

Internet bundles

Printing documents

Online registration assistance

Transportation to ICT centres

For teachers already struggling financially, these extra costs become burdensome.

The Human Side Of The Problem

Promotion is not merely about salary increases. For many teachers, promotion represents recognition, motivation, and career progress.

When digital systems delay promotions or create confusion, teachers become discouraged. Some lose confidence in the system entirely.

A motivated teacher is more likely to perform well in the classroom, while a frustrated teacher may lose morale.

What Can Be Done?

To improve the digital promotion system, the following steps may help:

Improve Internet Access

Government and stakeholders should expand reliable internet services, especially in rural areas.

Provide ICT Training

Teachers should receive regular digital training to help them navigate online systems confidently.

Strengthen Technical Support

Support teams should be available to quickly resolve portal and registration problems.

Improve Communication

Official information should reach teachers early through clear and trusted channels.

Simplify The Platforms

Promotion portals should be user-friendly and accessible even to teachers with basic ICT knowledge.

Conclusion:

The digitalisation of teacher promotions in Ghana is a step toward modernisation, and it has the potential to improve efficiency and transparency within the education sector. However, technology alone cannot solve every challenge.

Without proper infrastructure, reliable communication, technical support, and digital training, many teachers will continue to experience frustration instead of convenience.

Digital transformation should make life easier for teachers, not more stressful. As Ghana continues to modernise its education system, authorities must ensure that no teacher is left behind in the digital era.

How To Future-Proof Your Teenager’s Education In The Face Of New A.I. Advancements

Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) is changing the world faster than many people expected. From education and healthcare to banking, farming, journalism, and transportation, A.I. is transforming how people work and live. Tasks that once required humans are now being done by machines within seconds. As this technology grows, many parents are asking an important question: How can I prepare my teenager for the future?

The truth is simple: the future job market will not only reward academic certificates. It will reward creativity, adaptability, problem-solving, communication skills, and the ability to work alongside technology. Parents and teachers who fail to prepare teenagers for this reality may leave them struggling in a rapidly changing world.

Here are practical ways to future-proof your teenager’s education in the age of A.I.

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1. Teach Them How To Learn, Not Just What To Learn

Many students today focus mainly on memorising notes to pass examinations. However, A.I. can now provide information instantly. The real advantage in the future will belong to people who can learn new skills quickly and adapt to change.

Teenagers should be encouraged to:

• Ask questions
• Think critically
• Research independently
• Solve problems creatively
• Learn beyond the classroom

A child who knows how to learn can survive in any changing environment, even when careers evolve or disappear.

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2. Encourage Digital And Technological Skills

Basic computer knowledge is no longer enough. Teenagers should become comfortable using technology responsibly and productively.

Important skills include:

• Typing and computer literacy
• Internet research
• Graphic design
• Video editing
• Coding and programming
• Data analysis
• Cybersecurity awareness
• Responsible use of A.I. tools

Students do not necessarily need expensive gadgets to start learning. A smartphone with internet access can already open doors to online tutorials, digital learning platforms, and educational videos.

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3. Develop Human Skills That A.I. Cannot Easily Replace

Even the smartest machines still struggle with certain human qualities. These skills will remain valuable for decades.

Parents and schools should help teenagers improve:

• Communication skills
• Emotional intelligence
• Leadership
• Teamwork
• Creativity
• Public speaking
• Decision-making
• Empathy

A.I. may generate answers, but humans are still needed to inspire, lead, negotiate, and connect emotionally with others.

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4. Teach Financial Literacy Early

The future economy may become more unpredictable due to automation and changing job opportunities. Teenagers should therefore understand money management before adulthood.

They should learn:

• Saving habits
• Budgeting
• Entrepreneurship
• Investment basics
• Responsible spending
• Online business opportunities

A teenager who understands money can create opportunities instead of depending entirely on traditional employment.

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5. Encourage Reading Beyond School Textbooks

Many students only read to pass examinations. Yet the future belongs to people with broad knowledge and exposure.

Teenagers should read:

• Biographies
• Technology news
• Science articles
• History books
• Personal development materials
• Business and entrepreneurship content

Reading expands thinking and improves creativity, communication, and confidence.

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6. Allow Them To Explore Their Talents

Not every child will become a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. Some may excel in music, sports, media, technology, fashion, content creation, or digital business.

The rise of social media and digital platforms has created entirely new careers that did not exist years ago. Parents should support teenagers in discovering and improving their natural talents while balancing academics.

A teenager with strong talent and digital skills can build a successful future independently.

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7. Teach Responsible Use Of A.I.

A.I. should not become a shortcut for laziness or cheating in school. Teenagers must learn that technology should assist learning, not replace thinking.

They should use A.I. to:

• Research ideas
• Improve writing
• Learn difficult concepts
• Practice languages
• Explore careers

At the same time, they must still develop original thinking and independent reasoning.

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8. Promote Adaptability And Lifelong Learning

The jobs available today may change drastically within the next ten years. Some careers may disappear while new ones emerge.

Teenagers must understand that learning does not end after school. The most successful people in the future will continually upgrade their skills.

Parents should encourage curiosity, flexibility, and openness to change.

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9. Balance Technology With Good Values

While technology offers many opportunities, it also comes with dangers such as addiction, misinformation, cybercrime, and moral decline.

Teenagers should be guided with:

• Discipline
• Respect
• Honesty
• Time management
• Strong moral values

A smart child without discipline can still make poor decisions. Character remains important in every generation.

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Conclusion

Artificial Intelligence is not the enemy of education. Instead, it is a powerful tool that is reshaping the future. The challenge for parents, teachers, and governments is to prepare teenagers not merely for examinations, but for life in a rapidly evolving world.

Future-proofing a teenager’s education means helping them become adaptable, technologically aware, creative, disciplined, and emotionally intelligent. The world is changing quickly, but teenagers who are properly prepared will not fear the future — they will lead it.

The question every parent must ask now is not whether A.I. will change the future. The real question is whether our children are ready for that future.

From Hidden Dealers to Powerful Invaders: Ghana’s Growing Illegal Mining Crisis

Back in 2002, when I was posted to Manso Gyegyetreso after college, the situation in our mining communities was completely different from what we see today. At that time, there were no visible Chinese miners operating openly in the area. The mining activities were mainly carried out by Ghanaians engaging in small-scale operations to survive and support their families.

The only place one could occasionally find Chinese nationals was around a certain white house near Poano, where they quietly sold mining equipment and artefacts to local miners. They operated cautiously and avoided public attention. In fact, many of them were afraid to be seen openly by the people. Those were very different times, and I remember them vividly.

Fast forward to recent years, and the story has changed drastically. Around last year, I travelled through Anwiankwanta to Santase, and what I witnessed shocked me deeply. The overwhelming presence of Chinese nationals in our mining communities was impossible to ignore. Excavators, destroyed lands, polluted rivers, and entire communities transformed by illegal mining activities painted a disturbing picture.

That journey opened my eyes to the frightening scale of environmental destruction taking place across our lands. Forest reserves are disappearing, water bodies are being poisoned, and fertile lands that once supported farming are now left devastated. The activities of illegal miners, especially foreign nationals operating with apparent confidence and influence, have pushed Ghana into a dangerous environmental crisis.

What worries me most is the level of expansion and control these foreign operators now seem to have in many mining areas. They have acquired properties, businesses, and networks within surrounding communities. Their influence appears deeply rooted, making the fight against illegal mining increasingly difficult.

This raises troubling questions: How did we allow this to happen? Who is protecting these operations? Why has enforcement become so weak despite the obvious destruction happening before our eyes?

Many ordinary Ghanaians are frustrated and angry because the consequences of illegal mining affect everyone. Polluted rivers threaten our drinking water, damaged lands affect agriculture, and the long-term environmental cost may take generations to repair.

Ghana cannot afford to lose this battle. The country needs stronger political will, honest leadership, strict law enforcement, and collective national action to reclaim our lands and protect our future before the destruction becomes irreversible.

COME AGAIN, MR. MANASSEH AZURE.

Dear brother,

Your letter to President John Dramani Mahama is emotionally charged, theatrically indignant and carefully calculated to create the impression of a country descending into tyranny. Yet beneath the flourish and moral grandstanding lies a deeply flawed argument riddled with contradictions, dangerous assumptions and a troubling disregard for the very constitutional principles you pretend to defend.

You claim to be a defender of free speech. Fair enough. Every democracy needs vigilant voices. But free speech is not synonymous with immunity from the law. Freedom of expression does not abolish responsibility, neither does it place citizens above lawful scrutiny where allegations of false publication, incitement or deliberate misinformation arise.

That distinction is precisely where your entire argument crumbles.

You accuse President Mahama of presiding over a supposed assault on free expression merely because individuals have been investigated, arrested or prosecuted under existing laws passed by Parliament and interpreted by courts of competent jurisdiction. 

Yet in the same breath, you demand that the President “call the security agencies to order,” intervene in ongoing matters and somehow influence the conduct of investigations and prosecutions.

What exactly are you advocating?

Because what you are describing is not democracy. It is executive interference.

One moment you lament abuse of power; the next moment you are openly inviting the President to interfere with constitutionally independent institutions merely because the accused persons happen to belong to the opposition. That is astonishing.

Under Ghana’s constitutional order, the President is not an imperial ruler who picks up a phone to terminate investigations because journalists or activists are uncomfortable. 

The Police Service, national security apparatus and judiciary are not meant to operate according to the emotional temperature of public commentary. If there is abuse of process, the courts exist precisely to address it.

And by your own admission, many of these cases collapse in court.

That alone demolishes your thesis.

It proves the system is working.

It proves suspects are not being marched before firing squads or condemned without recourse. It proves judges retain independence. It proves accused persons have access to legal remedies. It proves due process still exists.

But apparently that is not enough for you.

You would rather the President step in extrajudicially and direct security agencies on who should or should not be investigated. Ironically, the very conduct you would have condemned as authoritarian under another administration is exactly what you are subtly demanding today.

Your selective outrage is equally revealing.

Where was this passionate constitutional purism when reckless propaganda, deliberate falsehoods and coordinated political disinformation polluted the national space for years? Where was this alarm when reputations were maliciously destroyed online, fabricated claims spread recklessly and public panic manufactured for partisan gain?

Democracy cannot survive on the doctrine that political speech is exempt from accountability merely because it is uttered by opposition figures.

No serious nation operates that way.

The law on false publication was not invented by President Mahama. It exists within Ghana’s legal framework and remains subject to judicial interpretation. If there are concerns about its application, then the remedy lies in legal reform, constitutional challenge and judicial review — not emotional blackmail directed at the President.

Your attempt to personalize every action of state institutions to Mahama himself is intellectually dishonest.

You say: “The buck stops with you.”

Politically, yes. Constitutionally, no.

A President appointing officials does not mean he micromanages every operational decision they take. Otherwise, every acquittal, every failed prosecution and every judicial embarrassment must equally be laid at his feet. You cannot selectively invoke presidential responsibility only when it suits your narrative.

More dangerously, your piece creates the false and incendiary impression that Ghana has descended into dictatorship merely because some opposition activists have encountered the law. That is reckless exaggeration.

People are arrested every day in democratic societies. Politicians are questioned. Journalists are investigated. Citizens are prosecuted. The critical issue is whether due process exists, whether courts function and whether accused persons have rights.

In Ghana, they do.

Your comparison to military rule is therefore not only absurd but insulting to victims of actual authoritarian regimes where dissenters disappear, media houses are shut down permanently and courts become ceremonial ornaments.

Ghana is nowhere near that reality.

Indeed, the greatest irony in your piece is this: you were able to publish an explosive public attack on the sitting President without disappearance, censorship or state retaliation. That fact alone annihilates the dystopian picture you are desperately trying to paint.

The truth is simpler than your melodrama allows.

What some people really seek is not freedom from oppression, but freedom from consequences.

A democracy governed by law cannot function on that basis.

President Mahama would betray the Constitution far more gravely if he descended into ongoing investigations and ordered security agencies to stand down merely because politically connected commentators disapproved. That would be the real abuse of office.

The rule of law demands something more difficult than outrage. It demands restraint. It demands institutional independence. It demands that allegations be tested in courtrooms, not adjudicated through emotional newspaper prose masquerading as constitutional wisdom.

You are entitled to your opinions, Mr. Awuni.

But your argument, stripped of rhetoric and sentimental nostalgia, amounts to little more than this: that the President should interfere with lawful processes whenever opposition figures are involved.

That proposition is untenable, dangerous and profoundly anti-democratic.

Yours faithfully,

Kasise Ricky Peprah 

The Honourrebel Siriguboy

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Indiscipline in Ghanaian Schools and School Rules: A Case Study of the Amaniampong SHS Assault Incident

In recent years, concerns about indiscipline in Ghanaian schools have grown steadily. Cases of student violence, bullying, disrespect for authority, and clashes among students continue to make headlines across the country. One incident that sparked national debate was the assault case at Amaniampong Senior High School. The incident once again raised difficult questions about discipline, school rules, student behaviour, and the overall state of moral training in Ghanaian educational institutions.

The Growing Problem of Indiscipline

Discipline is the backbone of every successful educational system. Without discipline, learning becomes difficult, teachers lose control, and schools become unsafe environments. Unfortunately, many Ghanaian schools today are facing increasing levels of indiscipline. Students openly challenge authority, engage in bullying, abuse social media, fight among themselves, destroy school property, and sometimes even attack teachers or fellow students.

What was once considered unacceptable behaviour is gradually becoming normalised. Some students now see school rules as restrictions rather than guidance meant to shape their future.

The Amaniampong SHS assault case is one of several incidents that demonstrate how serious the problem has become.

Understanding the Amaniampong SHS Assault Case

The assault incident at Amaniampong Senior High School shocked many Ghanaians because schools are expected to be safe spaces for learning and character formation. Although investigations and public discussions surrounding the matter revealed different opinions, one thing became clear: discipline in schools is weakening.

Many people blamed students, while others pointed fingers at parents, school authorities, social media influence, and even society itself. The truth is that indiscipline does not emerge overnight. It develops gradually when rules are ignored, values are neglected, and corrective measures become inconsistent.

Why School Rules Matter

School rules are not created to punish students unnecessarily. They exist to maintain order, safety, respect, and fairness within the school environment. Rules help students learn responsibility, punctuality, obedience, and self-control — qualities that are essential for success in life.

In many Ghanaian schools, rules cover areas such as:

Respect for teachers and school authorities

Proper dressing and appearance

Attendance and punctuality

Prohibition of violence and bullying

Restrictions on drugs, alcohol, and dangerous items

Academic honesty and examination conduct

When these rules are properly enforced, schools function effectively. However, when enforcement becomes weak or selective, students begin to disregard authority.

Factors Contributing to Indiscipline in Ghanaian Schools

1. Poor Parenting and Broken Moral Training

The home is the first school of every child. Unfortunately, many children grow up without strong moral guidance. Some parents defend their children even when they are wrong, making it difficult for schools to correct bad behaviour.

Others are too busy to monitor their children’s activities, friendships, and online exposure. As a result, students enter school already lacking discipline and respect.

2. Influence of Social Media

Social media has become a powerful influence on students. While it offers educational opportunities, it also exposes young people to violence, disrespectful behaviour, cyberbullying, and harmful trends.

Some students imitate aggressive behaviour they watch online. Others seek attention through misconduct because they believe controversy brings popularity.

3. Fear of Enforcing Discipline

In the past, teachers had stronger authority to discipline students. Today, many teachers fear being accused of abuse or facing public criticism. This has weakened enforcement in some schools.

As a result, some students become emboldened because they believe there will be little or no punishment for misconduct.

4. Peer Pressure

Students are heavily influenced by their peers. In some schools, students join bad groups to feel accepted or protected. This often leads to bullying, violence, and rebellion against school authorities.

5. Decline in Moral and Civic Education

Academic excellence alone cannot build a disciplined society. Many schools now focus heavily on examination performance while moral education receives less attention. Character formation must be treated as seriously as academic achievement.

The Need for Balanced Discipline

While discipline is necessary, it must also be fair, lawful, and humane. School authorities should avoid excessive punishments that humiliate or harm students. Discipline should aim at correction rather than revenge.

Students must also understand that freedom comes with responsibility. Rights without discipline can lead to chaos.

A balanced approach should involve:

Clear and fair school rules

Consistent punishment for misconduct

Guidance and counselling services

Strong parent-school cooperation

Moral and leadership training

Student engagement in positive activities

The Role of Parents, Teachers, and Society

Solving indiscipline in schools is not the responsibility of teachers alone. Parents, religious institutions, communities, and government all have important roles to play.

Parents must actively monitor their children’s behaviour and support schools in enforcing discipline. Teachers must serve as role models and apply rules fairly. Society must stop glorifying violence and misconduct among young people.

Students themselves must realise that discipline is not oppression. It is preparation for adulthood and leadership.

Conclusion

The assault case at Amaniampong Senior High School serves as a warning sign about the growing challenge of indiscipline in Ghanaian schools. If urgent attention is not given to the issue, more serious incidents may occur in the future.

Schools are not only places for academic learning; they are institutions for shaping character and building responsible citizens. Ghana’s future depends not only on educated students but also on disciplined and morally upright young people.

Restoring discipline in schools will require courage, fairness, cooperation, and a renewed commitment to moral values. Without discipline, education loses its true purpose.

Gold Beneath Our Pain: A Story of Poverty, Survival, and Hard Choices

This piece lays bare the truth. This is about galamsey, but it is true for many jobs in Ghana, which makes the next generation desperate so they engage in all forms of CORRUPTION:

The chilling truth why communities don’t fight galamsey
Apr 30, 2026

My name is Nana Kwesi Assan. I am 29 years old, and I come from a small community near Hiawa in the Wassa Amenfi Central District of the Western Region. I live with my father, a man now in his mid-70s, whose body carries the evidence of decades of labour. His back is bent, his legs are weak, and the same hands that once cleared farms with power now shake when he lifts a cup.

People see places like ours and talk about illegal mining as if the matter is black and white. But for many of us, it has always been survival mixed with pain, memory, mixed with sacrifice, and hard choices wrapped in desperation. Do you wonder why communities in illegal mining areas don’t rise up and fight it?

My parents were cocoa farmers. They raised me and my seven siblings from farming. They were doing mixed cropping, until the cocoa grew older. My mother was a strong woman. Before sunrise, she would already be awake, warming last night’s food for us as children to eat before we walked to school, then she joins my father who left at dawn for the farm. Together, they weeded, sprayed, planted, harvested, and carried heavy cocoa loads on tired shoulders. They worked until their bodies ached because eight children were depending on them. Yea, poverty stayed with us like a shadow. No matter how hard they worked, money was never enough. School fees were a burden. Lack of money for medical treatments made them self-taught herbal medicine practitioners, and we, including themselves, were their lifelong patients. Rice that those of you in the cities are tired of eating was a luxury. We ate it once in the two-harvesting crop season. We wore struggle like clothing.

Many people think cocoa farming means money. It’s not! It could have been, but the buying scheme in place will never make you a middle-class person. Sometimes when we listen to those of you in Accra discussing cocoa price per bag from that radio that hangs on the branch in the farm, it feels like knocking you people hard with the back of the hoe. Many of you do not know the suffering hidden behind each bag of beans. You do not know what it means to watch your trees weaken while you cannot afford fertilizer. You do not know the shame of standing helpless while your farm slowly declines because you lack the means to support it.

There were times fertilizer was beyond our reach because we had no money. I remember being on the back of my father on his rickety motor bike going from nearby farm owners to another asking for some few bags. Then came the years government said fertilizer was free. This is between 2013 and 2016. Strangely, that was when it became even harder to get. Political people controlled the distribution. Those with party connections got access. Those who truly needed it were left waiting, begging and hoping. Some people collected more than they needed and sold it. Real farmers like my father watched opportunities pass by while our farms suffered. That was, and is how the system treats men and women who produce cocoa for the country.

Some pictures I had about our diseased cocoa farm

Then my mother died in September 2012. Deep down, I know she died from the fall she suffered one morning when we were collecting and assembling cocoa pods in the farm. That fall, and the look on her face that morning got me scared. She was scared too, when my father was lifting her up! I still remember that morning. The rains had fallen the night before, and she had already been worn down by years of struggle. She spent her life helping my father on the farm and caring for eight children, but she left this world without ever tasting comfort. Her death broke our home. She was the glue holding us together.

After she died, things became heavier. Some of my siblings moved away in search of survival. Others were battling their own struggles at Pensanom, Akyekyere, and Sambreboi. It became mostly me and my old father, trying to hold on to a farm that was also growing old.

The cocoa trees had aged like him. Yields were dropping. Disease was common. Costs kept rising. What the farm gave us was no longer enough. I was adding my own young plants gradually. Thank God the land was inherited from my father’s father.

Some pictures I had about our diseased cocoa farm

Around us, the neglect, the stagnated growth in new buildings, the yellowish decaying roofing sheets on houses, and the silence you feel in some abandoned houses that once had a lot of people stay there was a telling picture.

Our school was in a disgraceful state. Cracked walls, leaking roof, broken desks that we celebrate whenever the assembly man occasionally fights his way to bring us 10 or 20, children learning in conditions that quietly told them they were forgotten. When rain fell, lessons were disturbed. Some of us sat in discomfort while trying to dream about a future nobody seemed interested in building for us.

Healthcare was another burden. The nearest CHPS compound was two communities away. During the rainy season, reaching it became a struggle. The road turned slippery and dangerous. Even motorbikes found it difficult to pass in some parts. Imagine carrying a sick child, an old man, or a pregnant woman through that road while the rain is falling. Sometimes, help was so far away it felt useless. That was the life we knew.

Then one day, something happened that changed everything.

A man from Wassa Akropong, together with two others, came to see my father. They said from their exploratory activities conducted discreetly on our farms; there was gold beneath our two acres of cocoa land. At first, I was stunned. The same land that had drained my parents’ strength for years was now being described as wealth hidden under the ground? But was painful too. Those cocoa trees were not just trees. Some had been planted by my mother and father with their own hands. They carried memories. They carried sacrifice. They were part of our family story. They said we should give them a call, whenever we were ready to sell it off, and then they left. I walked through the farm many times after that conversation. I touched the trunks. I remembered my mother there. I remembered following my father as a child. We should sell them off? Selling them off would feel like cutting down history itself.

Some nearby had already sold their farms to the miners, and had left for the towns.

One night, I got up at dawn and took a look at my sleeping Dad. That man has suffered. Would he also die trying, just like my mother? I also thought about what had led some other farmers who had sold their farms earlier to do so. I saw that their lives had changed. Men who once struggled like us had built house at Akropong. He had stopped coming around. His prosperity was visible for me to see.

The next morning, I called my siblings. We discussed it deeply. We argued. We became emotional. But one truth remained before us: our father had suffered enough. In the end, we agreed to sell it off to give our Dad a life he had hoped in us. That money changed our lives.

We bought a plot at Wassa Akropong. We built a five room-one-storey building on it. The ground floor was of stores we rent out to traders. One of my brother’s wife is doing business in one of the shops. We created something that brings income every month.

We bought 6 Pragyas Taxis for commercial transport. I also use part of the money from my young crop farm that I later sold to the people to buy gold from others and trade it. For the first time in my life, money began to work for us instead of us only working for money.

Wassa Akropong

Most importantly, my father I believe see life differently now. He eats and rests better. He gets better healthcare. Sometimes I sit and watch him in peace, and I think about how many years he suffered for us. I wanted him to taste comfort before death takes him. Now he has. Same I had wished for my mother. May God keep her wherever she is. My life is no longer the same.

People may condemn what we did. They may speak about the land, the rivers, the pollution and the future. Well, those concerns are real. But many of those speaking have never carried the burdens we carried. You have never buried a mother broken by labour. You have never watched an honest father grow old in poverty. Most importantly, you in the cities never cared about what life was doing for us. When you saw the rivers turn brown, suddenly you cared! I don’t blame you. You have never lived in a forgotten community where even basic dignity feels distant.

So before you judge us, ask yourselves: If you watched your parents suffer all their lives and one chance came to change everything, what would you have done? Suddenly become a hero by loving the country that showed you decades that it doesn’t care about you?

If your father was entering old age with nothing after decades of honest labour, would you let him continue like that?

If the farm that gave your family pain, suddenly offered freedom through the gold beneath it, would you turn away?

If you had good roads, hospitals, schools, jobs, and comfort from the beginning, are you truly in the position to judge those who had none?

Let the state give us reasons why we give it our all, and we would have been patriotic.

For now, I’m looking at how to finish the reclamation, and how that land could be allowed to rest, (it had done enough) until another generation of my father takes over.

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