The Ghana Education Service has unveiled the Safe School Logo and launched the Safe School Annual Awards scheme.
The launch with the theme, “Harnessing our collective effort to promote a safe, protective and inclusive school environment,” brought together some stakeholders in the education sector, students and representatives from the Ghana Education Service (GES).
The awards serve to encourage other schools and individuals by recognizing and rewarding those schools, teachers, and students who exhibit attitudes and behaviors congruent with the implementation of Safe Schools in schools at the district, regional, and national levels.
In a speech read on his behalf, the Minister for Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, on Thursday in Accra, said for the country to achieve inclusive and quality education, there was a need for the child to have a safe environment devoid of neglect, abuse and maltreatment to have successful outcomes.
“It is for this reason that the ministry and the GES launched the Safe School Programme in 2018 to eradicate all forms of violence in schools,” he said.
He said the ministry would continue to assist the guidance and counseling units of the GES to intensify the localization of the Safe Schools program by training staff, instructing students in classrooms, and working continuously with parents, families, communities, and relevant stakeholders to ensure the success of the program.
The Minister indicated that, leveraging individual, collective responsibilities and knowledge would help prevent and adequately respond to school violence and all forms of bullying, including cyberbullying.
On his part, the Director-General of GES, Dr. Eric Nkansah, stated that the service believed that the attainment of violence-free schools was a collective responsibility, hence the tagline, “Safe school, a shared responsibility.”
He said the tagline stressed the requirement for all hands on deck to create and advance a secure, welcoming and safe learning environment.
“We say thank you to all our partners for your commitment to our quest to rid our schools of all forms of violence, including corporal punishment, sexual harassment and bullying. I am confident that through our collaborative efforts, the Safe School Programme will be a success,” he added.
The overall winner, from the Fomena T. I Ahmadiya Senior High School in the Ashanti Region, Ofori Enock Jibril, went away with Gh¢7,000. Hannah Egbenya from the Volta School for the Deaf in the Volta Region, Abdul Rahman Mohammed Fayad of Nyohini Presbyterian Junior High School “B” in the Northern Region and Yasmin Alidu Zendin of the Early Childhood Development Centre at Agona Swedru in the Central Region, received GH¢ 4,000 each.
The launch of the Safe School is a campaign which was launched in 2018 to address the challenges of violence in schools.
Priscilla Osei-Wusu Nimako, ISD
Please I want to ask if you are done with the school safety logo, please?