News
Punish men who impregnate school girls – Amnesty International
The Regional Coordinator of the Amnesty International in the Upper West Region, Ms Ruby Ali has suggested that males who impregnate young girls and cause them to drop out of school be punished through fines for their action.
She explained that females who got pregnant whilst in school or learning a trade were forced to stay out of school or apprenticeship to nurture the pregnancy, give birth and take care of the baby while the male got the opportunity to continue with his education.
“If they are school mates, the male is able to go through the education successfully and complete without any problems but the lady drops out of school and even in instances where she is bold enough to go back to school, she loses a number of years in her life due to the situation”, she said.
Miss Ali who stated this at an event at Charia recently by ProNet North to educate women about their wellbeing for future empowerment said males should be made to pay some amount of money for committing such acts.
The Coordinator underscored that although some girls mutually agreed to having unprotected sexual relations with men, they were mostly pushed into the act by circumstances such as the need to buy sanitary pads and other basic needs as well as peer pressure and immaturity.
Addressing the chiefs and elders of Charia, one of the Wa communities with prevalence of teenage pregnancies, Ms Ali advised the chiefs to enact functional by-laws to protect innocent girls from irresponsible parents as well as unscrupulous young men.
She encouraged young girls to take good care of their bodies and abstain from pre-marital sexual relations as it had the tendency of making them pregnant and interfering with their quest to progress in life.
Ms Ali stated that the only way to reduce poverty in the region was to build the human resource capacity of the youth, particularly girls. to ensure that they were gainfully engaged in useful ventures but not become teenage mothers with no source of livelihood.
“Parents should provide for their girls so that they don’t fall victim to unprincipled men who take advantage of them; you cannot give birth to a girl and expect her to be independent at the age of 13 when she is not working, she brings items home and you are not even concerned to find out the source”, she said and described that as poor parenting.
She urged the young girls to have vision and aspirations in life and endeavour to work harder in order to achieve them, stating that they would be able to lure responsible men in future if they carved a better niche for themselves.
For his part, Mr Abdul Rahaman Adams, the nurse in charge of the Charia Health Centre said teenage pregnancy was steadily reducing in the area due to intensified education from the health facility and some non-governmental organisations committed to the welfare of the youth.
From Lydia Darlington Fordjour, Wa
News
Churches tasked to tackle indiscipline in society
The Right Reverend Kwaku Effah, the Methodist Bishop of the Sunyani Diocese, has urged churches to help tackle the growing trend of indiscipline in the country.
That could be done if churches concentrate on building the youth to become matured in Christianity, he stated in an interview on the side-lines of the 46th annual synod of the Methodist of Ghana held at Duayaw-Nkwanta in the Ahafo Region.
It was under the theme: ‘Discipleship: growing into Christian maturity,’ and attended by Diocesan executives, the standing committees of the church, members of the coordination offices and pastors wives.
The synod enabled the church to take stock and highlighted the previous year’s achievements, looked into emerging challenges and projected for the future.
Rt Rev. Effah also noted that Christian maturity and a strengthened faith in God would make the youth disciplined and principled, and urged the churches to form youth groups and provide employable skills training to create job opportunities for them.
“The youth groups will bring young people together, provide them with employable skills training to build on their future,” he stated, asking Christians not to live to please themselves, instead strive to live to please God.
That would enable them to grow into Christian maturity and entreated the churches to also prioritise the spiritual growth and development of their members, saying the lives of Christians must develop physically, spiritually, emotionally and socially.
“Christian maturity is not about age or positions in the church, but a life characterised by holiness and righteousness,” he stated and urged Christians to pray constantly to strengthen their relationships with God.
They must also always seek the Holy Spirit guidance and look onto Jesus Christ and eschew sin and to live righteously. —GNA
News
Students of ZICO encouraged to embrace AI for research
Mr Robert Kofi Fiadzo, former Greater Accra Regional Auditor, has urged students of Anloga Zion College (ZICO), in the Volta Region to harness Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a tool for research.
He said that it was critical to note that AI evolved daily in activities and academic excellence, and was no longer about memorisation but about adapting, unlearning and relearning, which should be cultivated to develop a growth mindset that thrives on challenges.
Mr Fiadzo, the Special Guest during the second edition of ZICO academic excellence awards, held at the premises of the school, in Anloga, said that some benefits of using AI in research include improved efficiency, accuracy and productivity.
“AI can help students analyse complex data, identify patterns, and generate insights, leading to more comprehensive research outcomes and leveraging AI, students can produce high-quality research that is well-informed and accurately referenced,” he stated.
He explained that the foundation of academic excellence and integrity remained unchanged and must be maintained during automation and artificial intelligence which include curiosity, critical thinking, creativity or the courage to be innovative by all learners.
Moreover, he said that the pursuit of academic excellence requires not just intelligence but resilience, adaptability, and a thirst for knowledge and AI provide the learner with information while it is still the curiosity and determination of individuals that would turn the information into wisdom.
He also charged the students to think beyond AI and develop problem-solving skills, remain disciplined, ethical and above all, adaptable to lifelong learning to enable them to become future architects that would be bold in problem solving without any obstacles.
Furthermore, he said that some of the greatest breakthroughs in life come from teamwork and brainstorming. He urged students to engage with one another to share relevant ideas and compete healthily, since excellence is a collective journey.
Madam Nutifafa Abla Kwawukume, the headmistress, and staff of the school who spoke to the GNA, welcomed the idea and promised to monitor the use of AI which brought about a culture of transparency, accountability and critical thinking.
The ceremony was also used to award some outstanding students and staff who performed excellently during the 2023-24 academic year.
–GNA
