Promoting non violent education and positive parenting

The project is based in three villages (Ampenkro, Sobikrom and Wamanafo) in a rural district of Ghana’s Bono Region. Agriculture is the main source of livelihood in this area, where educational attainment is low. Deeply rooted cultural traditions influence parenting and education, with corporal punishment widely accepted at home and in schools. There are no local organisations addressing children’s rights or education in this area, leaving parents, teachers, and community leaders with little exposure to positive, nonviolent discipline approaches.

Although the Ghana Education Service (GES) is responsible for enforcing child protection and education standards, weak supervision in rural areas allows harmful practices to persist. A GES investigation in February 2025 confirmed serious abuses at a local school, including caning, slapping, and public humiliation of students. An awareness-raising campaign conducted by PAORP-VWC in June 2025 led schools to request further, more comprehensive interventions.

In response to this request, the project promotes non violent education and positive parenting, raising awareness of children’s rights and supporting the implementation of national and international child protection laws, including the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child. The project’s overall aim is to help create safe, inclusive, and violence-free learning environments for children in the project area.

Project’s Overall Objective: Children in the five target schools in Bono Region, learn in an increasingly non-violent environment at school and at home.

Specific Objective 1: Teachers and students actively engage with the principles of non-violent education.

Specific Objective 2: The community's commitment to child protection and positive parenting is strengthened.

• 1,715 students who are exposed to corporal punishment on a daily basis at these schools;
• 118 teachers who are key agents of change but are currently constrained by entrenched reliance on punitive discipline;
• At least 150 Community stakeholders (parents, traditional and religious leaders, local authorities) who indirectly shape school environments by reinforcing social norms and attitudes toward discipline.

• Creation of a database regarding the use of violence in education, based on survey results;
• Workshops for teachers on children's rights, rights-based discipline, conflict resolution and inclusive teaching methods;
• Workshops for students on non-violent education, raising awareness and peer-to-peer approaches;
• Promotion of the development and implementation of ‘Do's and Don'ts’ charters in schools;
• School and Community Durbars to raise awareness of child protection, non-violent education;
• Participative radio talk shows to raise awareness on children's rights, positive parenting and violence prevention.

Project costs: 35,794,00 euro

Financial partners:

• With financial support from the State Parliament and the State Ministry of Baden-Württemberg via the Baden-Württemberg Development Cooperation Foundation (SEZ)
• PAORP-VWC and Kinderrechte Afrika e. V. (donations)

Cover image: Pupils from Wamanafo read information material on non-violent education. © PAORP-VWC