‘Conduct background checks on people recruited as teachers’

The Head of School at Hilltop Internationally British School (HIBS), Mr Patrick Kwasi Essiam, has called for changes in the manner school teachers are recruited, mooting the idea that more background checks should be conducted to know the people in whose hands children are entrusted.

According to him, if the current way of recruiting teachers were not changed, “we may end up recruiting teachers with very good certificates with very bad characters. With such teachers in the system, it will be difficult to end some of the negative incidences recorded in educational institutions.”

He gave the advice when he addressed students and parents at the school’s 12th graduation ceremony of the school on Saturday, June 27.

It was under the theme: ‘A New Phase Begins: Shaping Tomorrow with Cambridge Excellence.’

The call comes on the wake of cases of sexual misconducts recorded at some schools which has heightened calls for safeguarding of children in schools.

In June 2026, a teacher at Bole Senior High School in the Savannah Region was interdicted after a disturbing video surfaced online allegedly showing misconduct with a female student.

In October 2025, at Okadjakrom Senior High Technical School, students secretly filmed a teacher engaged in inappropriate acts with a female student in his office.

Similar cases across several schools have sparked public outrage, with many calling for a disciplinary action, and a renewed debate about accountability in classrooms.

Mr Essiam said government must legislate a mandatory background check on individuals shortlisted for recruitment — including criminal record, psychological fitness assessments, and teaching aptitude tests.

According to him, the system must not trust only certificate holders, saying that; “We must check extensively to know the real character of the person we are engaging to take care of children. A university certificate should not be the only reference.”

“We are now having many people who are not fit to be teachers in the classroom — all because of failure to thoroughly check their background.”

He cautioned that if the system was not monitored properly, Ghana risks filling classrooms with ‘imposters’.

The ceremony at the Daban campus saw 73 students graduate across four streams. Fourteen pupils advanced from Cambridge Primary to lower secondary after Checkpoint exams, 23 moved from Year 9 into upper secondary, 18 completed the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) and progressed to Advanced Level, while another 18 finished the Ghana Education Service (GES) Senior High School stream, having written the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).

The Proprietress, Mrs Cecilia Agyei- Amoako, traced the institution’s journey from the founding Hilltop Platinum School 30 years ago, through the Cambridge-focused HIBS established 14 years ago, to the addition of a GES Senior High School four years ago. She dismissed rumours about fees, stressing that: “School fees are paid in local currency.

FROM KINGSLEY E. HOPE, KUMASI