Ghana Education Service (GES) has voiced concern over the increasing prevalence of tattooing, multiple piercings, and bleaching among pupils, labeling it as 'a worrying trend.'

Furthermore, the Service is troubled by the rise in teenage pregnancies and cohabitation, recognizing the significant impact these issues have on the education of pupils, particularly girls.

Ms. Priscilla Christabel Eshun, the Central Regional Girls Education Officer of the GES, expressed surprise at discovering young pupils with prominent tattoos bearing peculiar names and meanings during visits to selected districts in the Central Region as part of the 'Life Skills Programme' aimed at empowering pupils.

The districts covered in these visits included Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam, Assin South, Ekumfi, Upper Denkyira West, Twifo-Hemang-Lower-Denkyira West, and the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem Municipality.

Ms. Eshun revealed these findings at the Second Quarter Sub-Implementing Partners (IPs) Review Meeting on sexual and gender-based violence, organized by the Regional Coordinating Council with support from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Various partner institutions and agencies, such as the Department of Gender, Ghana Education Service, Ghana Health Service, National Youth Authority, Population Council, and the Ghana News Agency, participated in addressing the forum. Additional contributors included the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana, Social Welfare, House of Chiefs, and Non-Governmental Organizations.

Ms Eshun said: “In one of the schools we visited, a young girl had bleached her skin to the point where it was peeling off and emitting an unpleasant smell.”

“We also observed students with multiple piercings in their ears.

“This has become a fashion trend, and many girls are engaging in it without considering the potential health, employment, and other socio-economic consequences,” she added.

She added that the GES also discovered that numerous boys had discontinued their education for various reasons and had resorted to operating tricycles (known as Aboboyaa or Pragyia).

The investigations further revealed that many young girls were forming associations with these boys in search of financial support.

“Regrettably, many girls are enticed into such relationships for financial gain, using the money to purchase sanitary pads and other personal items,” Ms Eshun revealed.

She emphasised that the Service prohibited tattooing, multiple piercings, and bleaching as stated in its harmonised code of Conduct approved for students in pre-tertiary schools.

The section of the code of conduct titled “Improper Dressing” explicitly states that “bleaching of the skin by a student shall not be allowed.”

She said the GES Code of Conduct stressed the necessity for students to dress neatly, adhere to the prescribed dress code and footwear consistently, and avoid accessories such as chains, bangles, caps, and bracelets.

Spectacles, for instance, were only permitted with a valid medical prescription and alterations to school uniforms or dresses were prohibited.

“Students shall not wear chains, bangles, caps, or braces. The wearing of spectacles shall require a medical prescription.

“No alterations to school uniforms or dresses shall be allowed. Possession or use of un-prescribed attire by a student is an offence,” Mrs. Eshun explained.

These guidelines, she said, also extend to personal grooming, emphasising the importance of maintaining a decent haircut as defined by school authorities.

Clean, neat, and modest hair is encouraged, with an emphasis on avoiding extreme styles and colours.

For male students, she said a styled haircut and a clean-shaven beard are acceptable.

“Students should have a decent haircut as prescribed by the school authorities. Hair should be clean, neat, and modest, and avoid extremes in style and colour. Men’s hair should be neatly struck and beards clean-shaven.”

The Code of Conduct outlines various sanctions for offences such as confiscation of bleaching creams and other unauthorised items, facing disciplinary committees, signing bonds, cautioning, and counselling, manual work, demotion for prefects, two weeks of internal suspension, and supervised shaving of beards or sideburns.

The GES’s Harmonised Code of Conduct reflects a broader commitment to instilling discipline and uniformity in the educational environment, emphasising the role of appropriate appearance and grooming standards in fostering a conducive learning atmosphere.

Mr. Alan Paintsil, on behalf of the RCC, pledged his outfit’s commitment to sustaining the progress made in reducing teenage pregnancies and other sexual and gender-based violence across the region.

He highlighted the specific districts that have been prioritised for the intervention and called for support from all stakeholders.