The Vice President, Prof Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, has given the assurance that teachers who engage in amorous relationships with their students will be sanctioned appropriately beyond mere transfers, noting that such unscrupulous teachers are a disgrace to the teaching profession.
She explained that teachers are placed in a position of trust, protection and empathy, which must be used to facilitate learning and not to violate students.
In a speech during the Ghana Teacher Prize Ceremony held on the campus of the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) yesterday [Sunday, October 5, 2025], she stressed that prompt punishment will be meted out any teacher who falls foul of the power given to them.
“Leadership cannot ignore those teachers in positions of power who abuse our young pupils. The recent event involving one of our teachers in a management position is a case in point. As teachers, we must always remember that we are placed in a position of trust, protection, and empathy.
The power given to us is to facilitate learning. We will not wait to apply sanctions to those who violate that trust,” she explained.
She pointed out that transferring offending teachers [to rural or remote areas] must not be seen as a punishment and ought not be part of the forms of punishment meted out to teachers.
“Remember, transfers are not punishment and so they should never be used against those who abuse our children, betray their trust, and those who disgrace our profession,” she said.
Student-teacher romantic relationships remain a canker in the teaching profession but recent leaked videos of male teachers in compromising situations with female students have put the issue on the radar again.
At the Ghana Teacher Prize, deserving teachers across various categories were honoured. The Most Outstanding Teacher went to a teacher of the Savelugu Senior High School, Mr Richard W. Tiimob.
