Members of Ghana Education Campaign Coalition
(GNECC)have recommended to the Ministry of Education (MOE) and Ghana Education Service(GES) to close down Great Lamptey-Mills Schools following the alleged unprofessional conduct of the proprietor, Mr Enoch Lamptey-Mills.
Mr Bright Kweku Appiah, Executive Officer of Child's Right International, addressing a press conference on Monday, he called for the
removal of Mr Lamptey-Mills from the school's management and that government should take over the school to secure the best interest of the children.
The Coalition, monitoring the recent development on the alleged Lamptey-Mills sexual misconduct on a student, "is alarmed that MOE and GES have not taken action to ensure that this unprofessional conduct is perpetuated nor becomes a norm within educational institutions," he said.
Mr Appiah said children's interest must be protected therefore; government had the responsibility to guarantee their right and provide quality basic education.
He quoted a section of the Education Act, 2008 Act 778, which mandated the Minister of Education to withdraw the licenses of private schools if their operations were detrimental to the moral welfare of the pupils.
"With private schools accounting for over 20 per cent of the total school enrolment at the basic level, participation in education has become
very important and therefore the urgent need to streamline legal and policy provisions in that sector," he added.
The Coalition in addition, called for appropriate steps by the GES and National Association of Private Schools (GNAPS) to ensure teachers and other stakeholders engaged in private education had a binding professional code of conduct similar to what pertained in the public sector.
Mr Appiah said this would ensure that private sector education professionals were sanctioned appropriately when they misconduct themselves.
He called on the Ministry of Education and the National Accreditation Board to design pragmatic mechanism for sanctioning private institutions, while the Ministry should ensure administrators and teachers in educational
institutions maintained high moral standards.
Mr Leslie Tetteh, National Coordinator of GNECC, said GES in consultation with GNAPS should come up with clear guidelines to regulate
operations of private institutions in the country and ensure the code of conduct for teachers.
He called on GES to make public the outcome of their investigation in the Lamptey-Mills issue without delay.
He appealed to the Attorney General's Department to investigate and institute the appropriate charges against Mr Lamptey-Mills.