Bullying in Ghana’s schools often goes unnoticed, yet its impact on students’ mental health is profound, leaving lasting scars on victims.
Determined to address this, the Africa Health Promotion Organisation (AfricaHPO), in partnership with the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Ghana Education Service (GES), has launched its first anti-bullying and mental health initiative across 12 schools in six regions.
The maiden event, held at Labone Senior High School, seeks to challenge harmful behaviours and foster empathy among students.
As many studies identify socioeconomic imbalances, cultural norms, family backgrounds, media influence, peer pressure, and weak school policies as key drivers of bullying, which often manifests as emotional, verbal, physical, or cyber abuse, the time to take action is now.
Speaking to JoyNews, AfricaHPO Executive Director, Kisses Johnson Ahortor, explained that the campaign will extend to senior high schools in all six targeted regions.
He described the campaign as a unique approach in transforming former bullies into peer educators and advocates as a way to tackle the problem at its roots.
“Bullying involves three actors: the perpetrator, the victim, and the bystander. Our innovation is to have the perpetrators themselves lead the advocacy, rather than recruiting only well-behaved students,” he said.
Mr Ahortor also called on more partners to join the effort to ensure sustainable impact and a zero-tolerance culture toward bullying.
GES Regional Guidance and Counselling Coordinator, Madam Love Amponsah, outlined plans to reduce the workload on school counsellors through a decentralised system offering psychosocial, academic, and career counselling.
She noted that support now comes from across the school community, including security staff, to help curb bullying.
“Most secondary schools have professional counsellors, but heavy workloads limit their time with students. Under a new framework that covers psychosocial, academic and career counselling, support comes from across the school community, and even security staff are involved so that bullying can be curbed”. She also urged parents to instill good behaviour in their children, stressing that “charity begins at home.”
Labone SHS Head Prefect Richmond Blankson praised AfricaHPO for launching the programme in his school and pledged to champion a zero-bullying culture among students.
With its focus on empathy, peer advocacy, and decentralised mental health support, the initiative marks a bold step toward eradicating bullying and safeguarding the well-being of Ghana’s students.
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