This write-up, “5 Reasons Why Some Teachers Have Relationships With Students,” is credited to Tikya Wireko’s Notepad!
The issue of teacher-student relationships has frequently become a subject of discussion following unfortunate incidents where teachers were caught engaging in such acts, either through dedicated investigations or by being caught red-handed.
Professionalism requires self-respect and comportment, both of which are backed by a Code of Ethics and Conduct. The Ghana Education Service (GES) has strictly applied this code against staff members who have fallen victim to the unfortunate acts of defilement, sexual harassment, and other forms of misconduct.
Interestingly, romantic situations in teacher-student relationships often violate all odds, including the Code of Ethics. These situations frequently neglect human-related factors such as respect, age, and social class. While many assume these relationships are always initiated by the teacher, they are sometimes initiated by the student.
Here are five reasons why some teachers enter into relationships with their students:
1. Sexual Harassment from Students
Teacher-student relationships are sometimes initiated by “bad students.” The topic of sexual harassment is extremely controversial, often because gender bias is at the center of its definition. Many conclude that only men can harass women, always placing women as the innocent party in the discussion. I strongly disagree with this, as I have personally experienced harassment from a student in my career as a teacher.
Sexual harassment goes beyond threats or physical force; it includes actions from students such as improper dressing or suggestive behavior during lessons. Surprise weekend visits by female students are another form of serious harassment. These are “formulas” some students use to create opportunities for a physical relationship with their teachers.
2. Lack of Self-Respect and Professionalism
A teacher should have self-respect and should never propose romantic relationships to their students. While female teachers should be mindful of their dressing to avoid harassing mature students, some male teachers, unfortunately, possess an excessive desire for all categories of women, including underage girls.
These teachers exploit the vulnerability of students by offering money, favouring them in exams, or threatening them with poor grades. This behaviour even extends to tertiary institutions, involving married individuals. Such teachers are a disgrace to this noble profession and clearly lack respect for themselves and their calling.
3. Exceptional Beauty and Attraction
In some cases, the irresistible beauty of a student can lead to distractions that result in a relationship. Similarly, the handsomeness of some male students can influence female teachers.
I know of a story where a young man returned to school to improve his English to better communicate with foreign friends, but he ended up impregnating his teacher-trainee in Tamale simply because he was handsome. Some students possess a level of beauty that distracts society at large, let alone a school environment. When teachers fail to maintain their professional boundaries, they end up in bed with these students.
4. Being “Too Soft” or Overly Sympathetic
While a rigid nature can make a teacher unpopular or feared—which is a bad teaching practice as it hinders concentration—teachers must find a balance. Teachers ought to be friendly, jovial, and sympathetic, but they must strictly adhere to the limits set by the Code of Ethics.
These positive attributes should not be exercised to the point of becoming a professional weakness. For example, a teacher might investigate why a student’s performance is falling and discover she is an orphan or from a single-parent home and on the verge of dropping out. This situation can create a “sympathetic love” that, while intended to restore the student’s confidence, can unfortunately lead to an inappropriate relationship.
5. Late Marriage and Personal Loneliness
The final reason is the inability or decision of some teachers not to marry early. Marriage can serve as a protective barrier against certain temptations. If a teacher is unmarried, students may be more likely to write love letters, propose unannounced visits, or initiate romantic setups to lure them into a relationship.
Students often ignore married men because they know a relationship with a married man is more complex and likely to lead to trouble. However, it is important to note that marriage alone does not always save a teacher from these pitfalls if the other reasons mentioned above are present.
Read: Flashback: The Day a Man Told a Female Teacher Her Salary Was “Too Small” for His Dreams
Final Thoughts
The frequency of teacher-student relationships involving male teachers and female students far outweighs the opposite. Sexual violence in schools is an evil that hurts both the learner and the integrity of the teacher.
Do you agree with the writer’s reasons? Join the discourse by leaving a comment below.
The Ghana Education News Editorial Team is a specialized collective of education researchers, journalists, and policy analysts dedicated to providing high-fidelity reporting on the Ghanaian academic landscape. Serving as a primary bridge between governing bodies—including the Ghana Education Service (GES) and WAEC—and the public, the team leverages over a decade of combined experience to serve students, parents, and educators nationwide.
Lead Architect & Editor-in-Chief
The team is led by Wisdom Kojo Eli Hammond, a distinguished Ghanaian Edu-Tech Entrepreneur, AI Solutions Developer, and Product Architect with over 25 years of cross-disciplinary experience in education, finance, and digital media. Wisdom is the visionary force behind SkulManager, Ghana’s premier school management ecosystem, and the Lead Consultant at Education-News Consult.
A self-taught innovator, professional Web Designer, and regular columnist on GhanaWeb, Wisdom engineered SkulManager.com as the only platform strictly tailored to the GES Curriculum. His technical leadership has redefined educational assessment through a Hybrid Marking Ecosystem, pioneering the BECE and WASSCE Home Mock services—a unique fusion of WAEC-trained human examiners and advanced AI marking engines operational since 2022.
Wisdom’s 360-degree view of institutional challenges is grounded in his tenure as College President and Lecturer at Pinnacle College (Achimota), as well as his background as a school administrator and accountant. He is a dedicated lifelong learner currently advancing his studies at the Accra Institute of Technology (AIT), with academic ties to the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA).
An accomplished author, his works include Returnees of the Dead Forest (UK Published), Simplified Beacon of Light (850+ Q&A), and The Leader in Me. A foundational pillar of the award-winning NGO Human Rights Reporters Ghana (HRRG), Wisdom is committed to building intelligent systems that solve societal problems and prepare the next generation of Ghanaian students for a digital future.
Contact: 0550360658 | Portals: GhanaEducation.org, GhanaEducationNews.org, SkulManager.com, BECEPrep.com. Educationnewsconsult.com etc