Kufuor stresses need for disciplined youth

President John Agyekum Kufuor on Saturday said stakeholders in education, such as parents and teachers, have the divine responsibility in ensuring that the children entrusted in their care were moulded into responsible adults, who would realise their full potentials in the world of life and work.

He noted "the fear of the present generation, and the lament of the whole country, is, the youth of today are misguided in their values, disoriented in their pursuits and above all not disciplined".

The President gave the reminder in an address read on his behalf, by the Senior Minister, Mr John Henry Mensah at the 166th Speech and Prize-Giving Day of the Wesley Girls High School at Cape Coast.

He stressed that in the nation's search for a solution to this problem, there was the need for adults, to examine themselves as to whether they had failed in their divine responsibility towards the youth.

"All too often, we the grown ups have to admit that the indiscipline which is ravaging this country, and blocking the path to its appointed destiny, is not only characteristic of the lives and attitudes of the youth; we the adults are often times more guilty of it".

President Kufuor said whether it was liked or not the corrective aspect of discipline was necessary, if the country were to produce future leaders, free from the faults and handicaps that hindered the realisation of the maximum potentials of children and wards.

"Let us as parents, teachers and adults love the children enough to discipline them with a discipline that is loving, corrective and constructive," adding, "the winners in life are not developed on feather beds."

President Kufuor acknowledged that most workers in Ghana today were dissatisfied with their salaries and rightly so, considering the current economic situation, and gave reassurance that the government was aware of their plight and would do all in its power to address it.

He, however, noted that this, notwithstanding, teachers and educationists in general had a unique role to play in moulding the character of the youth, and thereby shaping " the whole 50 to 60 years of their working lives".

Turning to the students, the President exhorted them to have visions and set goals that they value and passionately want to achieve and to focus their entire beings on achieving them.

Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom, Minister of Economic Planning and Regional Co-operation, who was the guest speaker, said the socio-economic situation in the country would soon get better with the government's tackling of the of the serious problem of the TOR debt.

He took the opportunity to explain government policies to the gathering and said the fixing of a minimum wage should not be a source of agitation among workers, since it did not automatically increase salaries in general, but only served as a "safety net" for the pegging of appropriate wages.

Dr Nduom urged Ghanaians to be prudent in the pricing of goods and services and to stop taking undue advantage of the fuel increase to dupe fellow citizens.

The Headmistress of the school, Mrs Nancy Thompson, whose tenure of office ends this year, took the opportunity to express appreciation to all individuals and organisations as well as old students that helped to expand facilities at the school, such as the dormitories and the computer centre, which had enabled the school to increase student intake.

Lady Julia Osei Tutu, wife of Otumfuo Osei Tutu, Asantenhene, an old student, chaired the function, and urged the students to study hard and strive to achieve excellence.

She announced that six best students, two from each form, who excelled in all subjects, would have their fees paid from the Otumfuo's Educational Fund.

The 1982-year-group, which sponsored the speech day, handed over a refurbished administration block of the school on which it spent 200 million cedis, as well as a solar energy system valued at 50 million cedis to the school.