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| Students disappointed in political parties |
6/14/2008 |
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Tema, June 13, GNA- Some students in the Tema Metropolis have expressed their disappointment at the inability of political parties'' to address pertinent problems facing children in Ghana. The students noted that none of the political parties aspiring to govern the country from 2009 have concrete plans for the welfare of children and the youth even though they form the majority of the country''s population.
The students comprising both private and public Junior High School (JHS) and Senior High School (SHS) expressed their disappointment in Tema on Thursday when they interacted with representatives of some political parties.
The interaction was part of a stakeholders forum organized by Abibimman Foundation, a Tema based NGO and sponsored by the Ghana Trade and Livelihoods Coalition in commemoration of the ''African Child Day 2008'', which was observed under the theme; "Right to participate - let children be seen and heard".
The students made their observations known, after the representatives of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), People National Convention (PNC), Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) and the Convention People''s Party (CPP), outlined their parties'' future plans for the Ghanaian child.
According to them political parties must not only pay lip services during campaigns, but must also live up to the task, as well as formulate pragmatic policies that seek to meet the needs of the children.
They also entreated the parties not to wait until they obtain power, but should initiate solutions to children''s problems such as child trafficking, child labour, defilement, education, poverty among others before they are voted into power.
Analyzing some current policies concerning their welfare, some of the students wondered why their colleagues are sent home by school authorities due to their inability to pay school levies even with the introduction of the Capitation Grant, which seek to provide free basic education for all.
Concerning the School Feeding Programme, the students said most of the schools in the urban areas have not benefited from the programme and called for the expansion of the programme to cover SHS students. On the issue of the introduction of the study of Information Communication Technology (ICT) under the new educational reform, the students questioned the preparedness of the reform as most of the schools in the country lack computers and electricity, while those who have it pay before they access it.
To promote reading habits among Ghanaian children and reduce their involvement in immoral activities, they appealed for the provision of community libraries through out the country.
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