The Northern, North East and Savannah Regional Chapters of the Northern Network for Educational Development (NNED) have commended President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for his intervention regarding the dismissal of the female students of the Chiana Senior High School.

“We welcome the intervention by the President and laud him for showing leadership and [a] good heart in this issue that threatened the education of the eight (8) Senior High School students,” the Northern, North East and Savannah Regional Chapters of NNED said in a statement issued on Friday, 13 January 2023, and signed by its Executive Director of Savana Signatures, the Lead Agency for NNED in the Northern, North East and Savannah Regions Stephen Agbenyo.

According to the Northern, North East and Savannah Regional Chapters of NNED, the GES, “was immoderate in outrightly dismissing the students.”

The Northern, North East and Savannah Regional Chapters of NNED indicated that: “The President’s call for the application of alternative disciplinary action instead of outright dismissal, speaks of the need for reflections on the reformative function of education and how this role has been executed over the years.

“We are of the firm belief that young people and students for that matter, have every right to speak truth to power and contribute to discourse on national issues.”

The Northern, North East and Savannah Regional Chapters of NNED however condemned “the unprintable utterances of the 8 students.”

The group noted that “the act by the students exposes the weak supervision in our second cycle educational institutions by school authorities, especially on the part of teachers and management committees who have direct oversight responsibility of the schools.”

The Northern, North East and Savannah Regional Chapters of NNED further noted that “if authorities at the Chiana SHS had been diligent and up to the task, these students would not have had the chance to use unauthorised gadgets (mobile phones) in the school to record themselves and share same on social media.”

The group also reiterated “the need for the introduction of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in our schools whiles also strengthening the Guidance and Counselling Units in our schools.”

The students, who were caught on video insulting President Akufo-Addo over the challenges confronting their school, were directed to handover all school property in their possession to school authorities and go home.

The eight students were directed to go home based on a letter by the Director-General of the GES, Dr Eric Nkansah.

The said students in a viral video in November 2022, were seen vehemently insulting the President, over his failure to address their school’s challenges and the economy at large.

The GES had launched a probe into the matter after the video of the students, who then were in their second year, went viral.

The eight students have since apologised to President Akufo-Addo for the insults hurled at him in their viral video.