Madam Georgina Abarese-Ako, the Acting Upper East Regional Director of the Department of Children, has advised students and young people to desist from illicit activities that will prevent them from reaching their full potentials in life.
She said prohibited activities, including drug abuse, premarital sex, gambling, and other criminal acts such as stealing, had the tendency of endangering the future of children, and as students, “they must desist from such activities and keep to their books.”
“Education to us is very crucial, and I have been telling children that for this part of our country we don’t have industries or farmlands where we can rely on for a living, so the only thing is education, and thankfully education is for all, so we encourage all students to be responsible,” she added.
The Acting Regional Director made the remarks when she addressed over 300 students, drawn from the Gbeogo School for the Deaf, Gorogo Junior High School (JHS), St. Joseph JHS, St. Thomas JHS, and Shea JHS at Gbeogo in the Talensi District of the Region, to mark this year’s Day of the African Child.
It had support from Actionaid Ghana.
This year’s celebration was held on the theme: “Education for All Children: The Time is Now.”
It aimed at highlighting the importance of education for all children in the region while providing them a platform to voice their perspectives, experiences, and aspirations regarding education.
The day was also dedicated to empowering children to be advocates for their rights to education and addressed specific challenges such as gender disparities, disabilities, and the impact of poverty on education.
Madam Abarese-Ako said issues of teenage pregnancy, mining activities, and lack of parental care on the part of some parents were hindrances to children’s education in the region and called on stakeholders to get involved to eradicate the menace for a brighter future of the children.
Mr James Twene, the Acting Upper East Regional Director of the Department of Gender, advised the students to play their roles as children in order to gain the support of their parents in their academic activities, to become responsible citizens and contribute to national development.
Madam Evelyn Abingde, the Girl Education Officer, Talensi District, indicated that apart from the high level of poverty that was pushing some children into illegal mining activities, most of the school infrastructure was not conducive for academic activities.
“There are some of the schools that don’t even have chairs; you get there and the children are sitting on the floor; some don’t have school blocks; some have roofs of their classrooms ripped off and some leaking, and so we are appealing to all stakeholders to come to our aid,” she said.
Master David Mbawuona, a student of Gorogo JHS, said the education offered to them was insightful and had therefore inspired him to study hard to be successful in the future.
Miss Martha Meb-Zaaya, a student at St. Thomas JHS, indicated that she was motivated to pursue her dream of becoming a professional fashion designer and would study towards it.
