Professor Stephen Adei, a former rector of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), has urged the government to eliminate the public-school lodging system, arguing that it contributes to children acquiring social vices.
This appeal is in response to a video that has gone viral showing a student from Adisadel College in Cape Coast assaulting another student over a dispute over a mobile phone sim. The school authorities have suspended both the offender and the victim.
Professor Adei told the media that he believes the boarding school system is no longer relevant in the modern context, particularly with the implementation of Free Senior High School (SHS) education.
I believe that it was a useful method for training a few elites, but now that we have free SHSs and residential schools are the primary method of training children, we must eliminate the boarding system in SHSs and make them local.
"Once we reach a certain level, residential school as a public education option is unacceptable. Adei stated that residential school students are more likely to engage in antisocial activities such as lesbianism and occultism than in the past.
As the previous model was only beneficial for training a small number of elites, he proposed transforming boarding schools into local schools.
As a public form of education, he continued, boarding institutions are no longer suitable. According to him, residential school students are more susceptible to antisocial influences such as lesbianism and occultism.
Kobina Atta-Badu, a management consultant, disagreed with Professor Adei's position.
He argued that boarding institutions are essential for educating children and fostering tribal unity.
Students from various regions of the country live together at a young age, nurturing friendships and bonds that transcend ethnic and tribal boundaries.
Atta-Badu emphasised that the advantages of boarding institutions extend beyond the level of the individual, contributing to national unity and social cohesion.
The debate emphasises the various perspectives on the significance and influence of boarding schools in Ghana's educational landscape.