The Bole District Directorate of the Ghana Education Service on December 9,2020, organised a school sensitisation programme with the theme “back-to-school campaign” workshop at the Bole District Assembly conference hall.
The sensitisation programme which was led by the Girl Education Unit (GEU) and supported by UNICEF-Ghana was organised with the focus on how to create the awareness of the general public most especially teachers and pupils on the reopening of school in early 2021 after the long unexpected break caused by the novel Corona virus pandemic.
Speaking during the workshop, Pastor Akuka Samare Samuel who is the Guidance and Counselling Coordinator of the West Gonja Municipality Assembly entreated parents and all stakeholders to prepare themselves and their children for the resumption of school hopefully in January, 2021.
Briefing the audience during the workshop, Pastor A. S. Samuel mentioned bullying,sexual harassment, teacher maltreatment among a host of others as some of the causes of why students loose interest in going to school.
He called on all stakeholders especially teachers to be up to task when school finally resumes and act responsibly thereby creating a conducive environment for teaching and learning.
Pastor A. S. Samuel commenting on teenage pregnancy prevention and re-entry of young mothers, he noted that lack of parental care,child labour,poverty are some of the causes of teenage pregnancies and hence admonished parents not to shirk responsibilities but to always be there to cater for their children most especially the females.
He disclosed that there are higher cases of pregnancies in the Junior high school level as compared to the primary,secondary and tertiary levels of education.
Speaking based on research conducted by the GES, Pastor A.S Samuel noted that there were 4,484 cases of teenage pregnancy in 2017/18 academic year and 4,836 cases of teenage pregnancy in 2018/19 academic year in Junior high schools as compared to 877 and 993 in 2017/18 and 2018/19 academic years respectively in the senior high schools.
He also noted that there are cases of teenage pregnancy in all regions nationwide with the Ashanti region leading with 1,229 followed by the volta region with 1,048 and with a total national figure of 7,293.
He further stressed that family planning can help prevent early childhood pregnancies but family planning cannot prevent sexually transmitted infections and hence urged parents to take the reproductive health issues seriously and to always take time to discuss and educate their children on matters of reproductive health.
In attendance at the workshop were traditional representatives, religious leaders, teachers and other stakeholders who advocated for re-introduction of reasonable corporal punishment,other proper methods of correction and moral education which they believe could help reduce cases of teenage pregnancies and help improve the academic performance of students.
Source: yagbonradioonline/Issah Zakaria
