The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Shani Alhassan Shaibu, has revealed that about 183 issues of pregnant and nursing mothers took part in this year’s Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and West Africa Senior School Certificate Examination in the region.
According to him, the phenomenon does not augur well for the image of the region.
He pointed out that the negative effect of teenage pregnancy continues to result in school drop outs of these young girls, especially in rural communities.
Addressing the 66th Independence Day parade on Monday, at the Tamale Jubilee Park, the Minister noted, “As stakeholders, we need to critically assess the current situation, looking at the gaps in the existing interventions in order to achieve coherent and sustainable interventions for eliminating teenage pregnancy.”
He also called for the continuous support in regional, district and community level engagements with stakeholders to help reduce and prevent teenage pregnancies and also urge the media to support in the information dissemination process.
Mr. Shani bemoaned both BECE and WASSCE results in the northern region still leaves much to be desired.
“We are looking forward to a major stakeholder forum soon to discuss the issue and to fashion the way forward.
“To our teachers, I urge them to perform their duties with absolute professionalism. As trainers of future leaders, we expect them to be people with integrity”, he added.
The Minister pointed out at education in all its forms has been central to Ghana’s development from the dawn of our political independence and remains the cornerstone of any meaningful progressive agenda of any nation.
In view of this, he said it is therefore very significant to note that government is continuously investing heavily in the education sector.
“It is our collective responsibility to ensure that we guard jealously these investments. One of the challenges that can derail these monumental achievements in the education sector is the teenage pregnancy amongst school going girls” he reiterated.
Highlighting on the theme for the 2023 Independence Day celebration, “Our Unity, Our Strength, Our Purpose”, Alhaji Shani implored the populace to embrace nationalism, patriotism and sacrifice in their broadest sense for the benefit of national restoration efforts.
“Despite our diverse socio-economic strata, let’s put aside our differences and create a united front for mother Ghana’s progress. For, we are a nation of one people of diverse identity, but connected and bonded with a common purpose”, he posited.
Meanwhile, the Mayor of Tamale, Sule Salifu and the Minister of State designate at the Finance Ministry, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam were among the dignitaries present at the celebration.
