The National Vocation and Technical Training Institute of Juvenal Boys Correctional Centre at Agona Swedru in the Central Region is owing the Ghana Water Company (GWCL) Ghc60.000.00 cedis being the cost of water consumed.
The Principal of the Institute, Mr. Bernard Banazi, who disclosed this to The Moment said there is constant pressure on the Institute by the GWCL to pay the amount, but stressed the institute is not in the position to afford the huge debt because of lack of financial resources.
He hinted that though the Institute falls under the (NVTI), it is a subsidiary of the Junior Boys Correctional Centre which is under the Department of Social Welfare, and therefore expressed surprise as to why the Government has left the plight and care of these innocent children to their fate and not attending to their welfare.
He also questioned why much attention is given to inmates in the various prisons who consciously committed the offence of which they were sentenced, but a deaf ear and blind eye has been turned to the little innocent children who committed minor offences, in most cases, through no fault of theirs, by the authorities concerned.
He further disclosed that the Centre had not received any subvention from the government, making the up-keep of the children very difficult for the Institute.
He pointed out that the Institute is also bedeviled with the problem of lack of materials, tools and other logistics to train the students
Mr. Bernard Banazi further disclosed that the Institute which offer courses in Carpentry and Joinery, Building and Construction, Catering, Fashion Designing, Automobile, Batik Tie and Dye among others, is currently, not on the Computerized School Selection and Placement System (CSSPS), and as a result, finds it difficult getting students enrolled in the Institute.
He stated that as a result of this, the Institute has to squeeze water out of stone by using its scarce financial resources to advertise admission in the local media in the town.
He hinted that the huge edifices of the Institute have also seen no major renovation works ever since it was taken over from the colonial masters by the government in mid-1940’s to establish the Centre.
A visit round the edifice showed weak and exposed torn electrical wires, a situation the Principal said sometimes sparked fire and therefore needs to be replaced before the unforeseen happens.
Currently, the Institute has no bus and had to hire one anytime students are going out for activities or attending other events.
During the recent cholera outbreak in the country, the Centre recorded two cases among the inmates, one very severe, but they were all treated and discharged, according to authorities of the Centre.
The situation, the Principal blamed on the little or no attention given to the inmates at the Centre compared to inmates in medium and maximum securities prisons who unlike juveniles, consciously committed the offence of which they were jailed, and has therefore called on the Government, the Department of Social Welfare and authorities concerned, to give some attention to children in the various Correctional Centers in the country.
