Minister for Education Haruna Iddrisu has thrown his support behind the Ghana Education Service's (GES) proposed zero-tolerance approach to criminal behaviour in schools, insisting that educational institutions must remain safe environments for teaching and learning.

Addressing participants at the National Conference on Stemming the Growing Indiscipline in Schools in Sunyani, the Minister said the government is fully committed to supporting the GES in dealing decisively with students whose actions endanger lives or disrupt order on school campuses.

He said the GES has both the authority and the full backing of President John Dramani Mahama's administration to enforce strict measures against criminal acts in educational institutions.

Mr Iddrisu urged education authorities to implement the policy without hesitation, stressing that the government stands ready to support every effort to ensure its successful enforcement.

According to him, criminal behaviour has no place in Ghana's schools, warning that any attempt to tolerate such acts would erode the safety and security required for effective teaching and learning.

He noted that once schools become unsafe, they can no longer fulfil their primary responsibility of providing a conducive environment for students to learn and develop.

The Minister's remarks come amid increasing concern over rising cases of indiscipline in some senior high schools, including reports of gang-related activities, assaults on teachers and other serious incidents that have heightened public concern about safety in educational institutions.

His comments also reinforce the responsibility of the GES and school administrators to clearly distinguish routine disciplinary offences from actions that constitute criminal conduct requiring stronger intervention.

At the same conference, Director-General of the Ghana Education Service, Prof. Ernest Kofi Davis, expressed concern over the changing pattern of student misconduct, observing that behaviours once largely associated with tertiary institutions are increasingly being recorded in senior high schools.