The use of insults in addressing issues is gradually gaining root in the country and if this is not checked, it will affect the future generation.

Last week, there were a lot of reactions from the public following the dismissal of eight female stu­dents of Chiana Senior High School (SHS) in the Kassena Nankana West District of the Upper East Region.

The students in November last year, insulted President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in a video which went viral expressing their frustra­tions over the severe hardships in the country.

While some Ghanaians commend­ed the Ghana Education Service (GES) for its decision to dismiss the students, others were of the view that the punishment was too harsh as it would jeopardise the future of the students.

Fortunately, the President in­tervened by appealing to the GES to rescind its decision and resort to an alternative disciplinary action instead of dismissal.

Surely, the students are wrong and they must be punished but what punishment can they be given to serve as a deterrent to others?

Although The Spectator con­demns the conduct of the girls in its entirety, we commend the President for pardoning the students who ear­lier rendered an apology to him in another video showing remorse for their misconduct.

Prior to that, the GES also intervened and apologised to the President on behalf of the girls. The intervention is a step in the right direction and The Spectator hopes that this misconduct will not be re­peated by other students in future.

The problem is, respect for the elderly is becoming a thing of the past which is worrying. Coupled with that, insult in public space is gradually gaining root in the country. Instead of discussing relevant issues some people rather resort to attack­ing their opponents with insults on various platforms, especially on the airwaves.

As Ghanaians, we should not be ignorant of the fact that the youth listen and watch whatever goes on in the country. Insult in public space is not a good example for the youth. It is not a surprise that the youth have imitated their leaders uncon­sciously and have resorted to the use of insults against the elderly.

As a country, we must check this before it becomes a canker else our future generation will show no respect at all to the elderly.

We need to be careful with our utterances to set a good example for the upcoming young ones. Even in instances of provocation, let us exercise restraint in our pronounce­ments and show respect to those in authority.

Attacking your opponent with insults promotes violence which must be nipped in the bud. Let us eschew insults to promote peace for a better Ghana.

On the issue of the Chiana girls, The Spectator hopes that the youth will learn a lesson from the action taken against the girls and refrain from such misconduct. Students should not take the intervention made on behalf of the girls as an ex­cuse to engage in similar acts hoping that they will be pardoned.

It is unfortunate that (some­times) no matter how disciplined some parents may be, their chil­dren become recalcitrant. We urge parents to have control over their children and apply sound biblical principles in training them. In ad­dition, parents must monitor their children on the use of the social me­dia to ensure that it does not create problems for them.

It is our hope that the GES will revise some of the policies which, according to some teachers, make it difficult for school’s authorities to enforce discipline in schools for fear of being victimised.