The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has condemned the dismissal of eight students of the Chiana Senior High School who insulted President Nana Akufo-Addo.

NUGS said every aspect of the decision is unacceptable and must be rescinded.

“We want to clearly and unequivocally state that the union condemns every aspect of the actions of these students and believes that such indiscipline acts need a serious look and attention. Such behaviour is alien to our culture and more worrying when it is targeted at the elderly and in this situation the President of the republic. It is indeed disgraceful and unacceptable!”

NUGS in a statement however said the decision of the GES to dismiss the students over their conduct is destructive and defeats the reformative principles of punishment.

“While the union admits the need for punishment and the benefits of same, we are also of the humble conviction that the principle of punishment has a key pillar which is reformation. It is common African cultural knowledge that the responsibility of raising a child is not the duty of one man, hence our collective obligation to help shape the young ones of our country in a way that though evokes discipline still protects their future.”

“We believe that dismissal is overly heavy and leads to a huge step in truncating the educational future of these young ones. It is even more worrying knowing that due to the Free SHS policy, almost all Senior High Schools are now managed by the Ghana Education Service and such a dismissal is almost an end to their high school education,” NUGS added in its statement.

The dismissed students were captured on video making disparaging comments against the president and the implementation of the Free SHS policy.