Stakeholders propose punitive measures for examination malpractices

Stakeholders in children's welfare and upbringing in Ashanti have proposed strict and enforced punishment for students and pupils who flout examination rules.

They said examination malpractices which had lately become common, needed to be treated by policymakers as an issue likely to ruin the future of children and other younger generations.

The stakeholders stated these at the 2020 validation workshop on Ghana’s 6th and 7th report on children to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in Kumasi.

It was organized by the Department of Children under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) mandated to file such reports to seek views of its stakeholders before the final submission to the UN.

Every five years, member states of the UN write reports on the situation of children in their countries.

The Stakeholders were drawn from the Ghana Education Service, Ghana Health Service, school children, security services, civil society organizations involved in children's affairs, and others.

Participants also highlighted the need for the government to provide free treatment and support for children suffering from deadly diseases such as cancer and others.

Again, the participants expressed worry about how children were tagged as cursed and witches and exposed to the public in the media.

Such children should rather be provided with the needed care, love, and counselling to enable them to leave their normal lives.

Dr Slyvester Kyei-Gyamfi, Head of Information Research and Advocacy Division of the Department of Children, reiterated the Ministry’s resolve to continue to provide the needed support and protect all children in the country.

He said the Ministry was working to take stricter actions on issues regarding child marriages, which had been on the rise in some communities in the country.

Dr Kyei-Gyamfi said every child had the right to education, life, and speech, therefore, children should be offered more platforms to voice out issues bothering them.

The school children in a presentation, called on parents to guide them for their holistic development.

“Parents should counsel their children on the dangers of substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, and issues of rape and defilement”, they said.