Character as important as academic excellence – Dr. Apaak

Deputy Minister for Education Dr. Clement Abas Apaak has stressed that character development is just as essential as academic excellence in shaping Ghana’s future.

Delivering the closing remarks at the National Conference on Stemming the Growing Indiscipline in Schools in an Emerging World in Sunyani, Dr. Apaak said the country’s education system must place equal emphasis on values and academic achievement if it is to produce responsible citizens.

He noted that the conference had reached a broad consensus on practical measures to tackle rising indiscipline in schools, with participants agreeing that discipline must be strengthened through collaboration among government, educators, parents, students, traditional leaders and civil society.

“As a Ministry, we remain committed to safe schools, to protecting the dignity of our teachers, to positive discipline, to learner wellbeing, and to evidence-informed policymaking. Education without values cannot transform a nation; character matters every bit as much as competence.”

He explained that the conference had produced actionable recommendations, including a harmonised national code of conduct, stronger counselling services, improved governance structures and enhanced legal safeguards to promote discipline across schools.

According to him, these measures would only succeed if all stakeholders embraced their responsibilities and worked together to implement them.

Dr. Apaak added, “Together, as stakeholders, we will harmonise a national code of conduct that aligns communal values with school rules. We will define a social contract that sets out student rights, parental accountability and peer-led discipline, backed by stronger counselling services in every school.”

He urged participants to become advocates for positive discipline in their respective communities, stressing that lasting reforms would require individuals to model the values they expect from students.

“I therefore charge each of you to return to your communities as ambassadors of positive discipline. Policies transform systems; people transform culture and that transformation begins with every one of us in this room,” he said.

The deputy minister expressed optimism that Ghana would build schools where excellence in learning is matched by excellence in character.