Peace Council calls for stronger support for school peace education

The National Peace Council (NPC) has urged stakeholders to bolster support for peace education in schools, emphasizing its crucial role in maintaining Ghana's peace. Director Janet Sarney-Kuma highlighted that teaching young people skills like dialogue, tolerance, mutual respect, and non-violence is vital to tackling issues such as misinformation, cyberbullying, hate speech, intolerance, and substance abuse.

At a media briefing in Accra, Sarney-Kuma explained that preventing conflicts helps keep schools open while equipping learners with these values enables them to become lifelong advocates for peace.

Sarney-Kuma pointed out that schools serve as more than just academic institutions; they are environments where character is formed, leadership is nurtured, and responsible citizenship is developed. "To sustain Ghana's peace, we must intentionally foster dialogue, tolerance, respect, and non-violence in our schools and classrooms," she stressed.

The Council collaborates with the Ghana Education Service, school authorities, and various partners to promote peace education through classroom activities, peace clubs, civic education, leadership training, and community outreach. Since its inception, the programme has expanded to schools across all regions, empowering hundreds of learners to become ambassadors of peace in their communities.

The NPC's peace education initiative is gaining traction, with learners choosing dialogue over violence, fostering mutual respect via peace clubs, and demonstrating leadership among peers. Sarney-Kuma urged the Ghana Education Service, parents, teachers, faith-based organizations, traditional authorities, civil society groups, development partners, and the private sector to support peace education.

She also appealed to the media to give more attention to stories of peace and social cohesion, urging them to highlight young peace ambassadors in schools and promote dialogue in communities that are transforming lives through understanding. Sarney-Kuma envisioned every school becoming a hub for peace education, with every learner acting as a champion of dialogue and national cohesion.

She encouraged stakeholders to persist in their collective efforts to cultivate a culture of peace, "one school, one student, one teacher, and one community at a time."