Stakeholders in education in the Northern Region, are advocating for a more balanced approach that allows teachers to discipline students when needed while simultaneously educating them on sexual and reproductive health.
Linda Amoah, the Northern Regional Girls Education Officer, highlighted that restraining teachers from disciplining children only leads to a lack of respect and social vices, affecting their future.
“There is a whole lot of issues going on, as far as the upbringing of a child “. “As a teacher, if I know disciplining a child will bring me troubles, I’ll just sit back and watch them go astray”
Speaking during a stakeholder dialogue on the Power to Choose (P2C) project in Tamale on November 9, 2023, Amoah expressed her concerns over students’ perceived right to disrespect their elders and the consequences of disciplinary limitations in the education system.
The 7-year P2C project, implemented by NORSAAC and its partners in Savelugu and Sagnarigu municipalities in the northern region, aims to empower young girls amidst a rise in teenage pregnancies in the region.
Blessila Na-afoe Kandoh, Health Interest Lead at NORSAAC, shared her worries about the surging rates of unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions among adolescent girls in basic and high schools.
She noted that the strict GES policy on “abstinence-only” education is creating a significant gap in addressing teenage pregnancy in the country.
Kandoh is this urging policymakers to consider the reality that many students are sexually active and advocated for a more comprehensive approach that includes preventive education in sexual and reproductive health.
“Some of these adolescents are sexually actively and it will be very difficult to continually preach abstinence without including prevention “
Source: Citinews – Shawana Yussif
