Minister for Education Haruna Iddrisu has said that the ban on lavish post-examination celebrations applies to all schools in Ghana, public and private, as authorities seek to curb what they describe as excessive displays of wealth on school premises.
Speaking in an interview on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show, Iddrisu said the directive was intended to preserve the dignity of educational institutions and keep schools focused on academic achievement.
“It covers all schools in Ghana. It covers all schools in Ghana,” he said when asked whether the directive applied only to public schools.
“We cannot allow this culture to be part of the development of Ghanaian learners. It’s a simple no,” he added.
The clarification follows a directive by the Ghana Education Service (GES) banning post-WASSCE celebrations on school premises that involve expensive gifts, including motor vehicles and money bouquets, after videos of students receiving lavish presents sparked public debate.
Iddrisu said parents remained free to reward their children for completing school but should do so outside school premises.
“You don’t need to do that in school,” he said, responding to suggestions that such gestures were intended to motivate students.
He said raising children was a shared responsibility between families and schools, with each playing distinct roles.
“Parenting is a shared responsibility between the home and the school. The parent, the significant others, and the teacher share the two environments together,” he said.
The minister said schools must remain environments dedicated to learning and academic competition.
“As for the learning environment, it has remained safe, secured and dignified,” he said.
“The school environment is an environment for academic competition, nothing more.”
Iddrisu also criticised what he described as a growing trend of extravagant displays of wealth on school campuses.
“The extravagant, lavish display of wealth is utterly unacceptable, and we would not tolerate or accommodate that going forward,” he said.
He said the incidents that prompted the government’s intervention had not been brought to the attention of the Ministry of Education or the Director-General of the GES before they occurred.
“But these developments were not known prior to the Director-General of GES and to the Ministry of Education,” he said.
To enforce the directive, Iddrisu said schools would now be required to obtain approval before holding related ceremonies.
“We have accordingly asked that no institution should proceed with those ceremonies without clear clearance from the Director-General of the GES,” he said.
