Eastern Regional Police Commander, DCOP Joseph Owusu Bempah, has condemned the growing trend of school rivalries turning into violent confrontations, warning that healthy competition among schools must not degenerate into a contest over which school can inflict the most damage.
Speaking to Isaac Addae on Morning Starr on Starr FM, DCOP Owusu Bempah said rivalry between schools should be centred on academics, sports and other positive activities rather than students competing over which school can cause the most harm to the other.
“How is it rivalry among schools? There’s no problem with that because it helps to promote good people in academics.”
He explained that competition between schools can be beneficial when it encourages students to improve academically and in sports.
“Because you want to compete, you want to make sure that you are appealing the other school. Healthy competition is about academics.”
The Eastern Regional Police Commander said the same principle applies to sporting competitions, where schools can take pride in their achievements and the personalities they have produced.
“If it is about sports, athletics, you have the bragging, right? That these are the people, prominent people, that my school has been able to produce. Wonderful.”
He, however, said the situation becomes problematic when students begin to measure rivalry by the level of violence and destruction they can cause.
“But now they are saying which school is the most violent, which school has the capacity to inflict the most damage on the other school, which student can cause more harm.”
DCOP Owusu Bempah said the issue is not limited to the two schools involved in the recent incident, noting that similar forms of violence have occurred in other parts of the country.
He expressed particular concern about the role of teachers in maintaining discipline, questioning why a teacher would support or encourage students to engage in violent acts.
“And I wonder, what would be the motivation for a teacher? You are a teacher; you are paid to teach students and instil discipline in them, yet you are condoning and conniving with these little ones and pushing them to commit acts of violence. What are you teaching them?”
The Police Commander warned that exposing young students to violence at an early age could have serious implications for their behaviour as they grow older.
“At this age, most of them I don’t think they’re ages more than 20, and you are teaching them how to be insensitive, so when they are 25, What acts of violence would they be engaging in?”
He said authorities must therefore look at appropriate measures to restore discipline among students and prevent violent behaviour from becoming entrenched.
DCOP Owusu Bempah maintained that rivalry between schools should be used to promote academic and sporting excellence rather than violence, stressing the need for students and teachers to understand the responsibility that comes with such competition.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh/Pamela Quayeson
