NCCE, CHRAJ Sensitize Queen of Peace SHS Students on Integrity and Accountability

The Nadowli-Kaleo District Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education has engaged over 1,000 students of Queen of Peace Senior High School on ethical leadership, accountability, the rule of law, and the fight against corruption.

The programme, held at the school’s Dining Hall, brought together students from the school’s Civic Education Club and the wider student body. It formed part of the implementation of the “Civic Engagements on the Rule of Law and the Fight Against Corruption” under the Participation, Accountability and Integrity for a Resilient Democracy Programme, PAIReD.

The session was facilitated by the Nadowli-Kaleo District Director of the NCCE, Mr. Emmanuel Der Tambile, and the Nadowli-Kaleo District Officer of the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Naa Yakubu Omar Yaarun.

The facilitators took the students through key issues in ethical governance, conflict of interest, influence peddling, abuse of office, and responsible citizenship. They encouraged the students to uphold integrity, fairness, discipline, and accountability in their academic and social lives, stressing that young people have an important role to play in strengthening democratic governance and combating corruption in Ghana.

The engagement was highly interactive, with students sharing their views on leadership, corruption, and civic responsibility. Some students raised concerns about nepotism, cronyism, and the “Peter Principle” in the Ghanaian job market, and called on state actors to take stronger steps to address such practices.

Others asked how citizens could help curb the conduct of public servants who appear hardworking only in the presence of their superiors, but return to poor work habits when they are not being supervised. In response, the facilitators encouraged the students to contribute to the fight against such social ills through responsible conduct, active citizenship, and the courage to speak up through lawful channels.

Addressing concerns about misconduct by public officers, Mr. Tambile explained that citizens may lodge complaints with the Public Relations and Complaints Committee, PRCC, at the District, Municipal, and Metropolitan Assemblies. He said the PRCC, together with other lawful authorities, provides a platform for citizens to report concerns about public officers working within their administrative jurisdictions. He added that in the case of junior officers, such complaints could also be reported to their superior officers for redress.

The programme reinforced the need for students to become ambassadors of integrity in their schools, homes, and communities. The NCCE urged young people to reject corruption, resist favouritism, respect lawful authority, and promote accountability wherever they find themselves.

The activity was supported under the PAIReD initiative, commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, BMZ; co-financed by the European Union and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, SECO; and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, GIZ, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and the NCCE as implementing partners.