The Ghana Education Service (GES) has directed senior high schools across the country to enforce a rule prohibiting teachers and headteachers from sending students to their bungalows to perform household chores. Editorial Standards
The directive follows renewed concerns about student safety and professional boundaries in schools after allegations of sexual misconduct at Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS).
GES Director-General, Professor Ernest Kofi Davis, announced the decision during an interview with JoyNews on Thursday, October 22, 2026. He said the Service would formally communicate the directive to schools and regional education authorities, reminding staff that the practice is already prohibited under the GES Code of Conduct.
According to Professor Davis, Section 3.7(v) of the Code of Conduct states that students should not be asked to engage in household chores. He said the Service expected the communication to reach regional directors by Friday, October 23, and that schools would be required to comply.
The announcement is intended to reinforce an existing regulation rather than introduce an entirely new policy. However, the renewed emphasis signals the GES’s determination to address a practice that has continued despite the rule.
Professor Davis said the Service would remind teachers and other school staff to familiarise themselves with the Code of Conduct and stop inviting students to their residences for domestic duties. Corrections Policy
He stressed that such requests were unacceptable and inconsistent with the professional responsibilities of educators.
The directive comes amid intense public scrutiny of student welfare following the Obuasi SHTS scandal.
An investigative documentary, Inside the Dreaded Headmaster’s Bungalow, produced by journalist Manasseh Azure Awuni, brought allegations of sexual harassment and abuse involving female students at the school into the public domain.
The allegations have prompted calls for stronger safeguarding measures, accountability and a thorough investigation into how concerns about student welfare were handled.
The headmaster at the centre of the allegations has been interdicted, while investigations continue. The claims remain allegations and must be established through the appropriate investigative and legal processes.
The controversy has also renewed debate about the risks associated with students being sent to staff residences for errands or household tasks.
Child protection advocates have argued that such arrangements can create situations in which students are separated from their peers and placed in environments where supervision may be limited.
Although not every request for an errand necessarily involves misconduct, safeguarding concerns arise when students are expected to perform private domestic duties for adults in positions of authority.
Such practices can blur professional boundaries and make it harder for students to refuse requests or report uncomfortable experiences.
The GES directive therefore places renewed attention on the responsibility of schools to maintain safe and appropriate relationships between staff and learners.
Teachers are expected to support students’ academic development and wellbeing, while school management must ensure that institutional rules are observed.
The Service is expected to rely on regional directors to communicate the rule and remind staff of their obligations.
The effectiveness of the directive, however, will depend not only on the circulation of reminders but also on how schools monitor compliance and respond to reported violations.
The latest move has also raised questions about how existing safeguarding rules are enforced. The Code of Conduct already prohibits students from being asked to carry out household chores, but reports of the practice continuing suggest that awareness alone may not be sufficient.
Parents and guardians entrust schools with the care and education of their children, particularly in boarding institutions where students spend extended periods away from home.
Ensuring that learners are not used for private domestic work is therefore an important part of maintaining that trust. Editorial Ethics & Independence
The GES has emphasised that staff must familiarise themselves with the Code of Conduct and cease the practice immediately.
Schools and regional authorities are expected to take the directive seriously as concerns over student protection continue to grow.
The development marks a renewed institutional response to the debate over safeguarding in Ghana’s senior high schools.
As investigations into the Obuasi SHTS allegations proceed, the GES’s enforcement of the household chores rule is likely to remain a key issue in discussions about student safety, accountability and professional conduct in education.