Thirty school girls pregnant in Dafiama-Bussie-Issa District

Some 30 Primary and Junior High School girls in the Daffiama-Bussie-Issa District in the Upper west region are currently pregnant.

The girls who are in classes ranging from Primary class five to Junior High School (JHS) form three, were impregnated just within the 2013/14 academic year alone by some unscrupulous men, including teachers in the District.

It is, however, sad to note that all the girls dropped out of school while the men responsible for their plight are still going about their normal duties without any punishment.

Mr. Fidelis Zumakpeh, the Dafiama-Bussie-Issa District Chief Executive (DCE), who disclosed this during the 2014 first ordinary meeting of the Assembly, described the situation as unacceptable and blamed parents, teachers, pupils and the Education Directorate for not playing their roles very effectively.

He said education was the bedrock of every community and called on all actors in the education sector to make a conscious effort to nib the practice in the bud before it destroyed the future of girls in the district.

“Government had done a lot for the education sector in the district by eliminating most school under trees and replacing them with decent classroom blocks, as well as increasing both capitation and the number of schools under the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP),” he added.

Mr. Zumakpeh said the Assembly was also complementing government’s effort by rehabilitating a 3-Unit classroom block at Bussie JHS, a 2-Unit day care centre at Fian and a dormitory block at the Dafiama Senior High School (SHS) with funds from the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF).

The DCE also commended the Member of Parliament (MP), Mr. Mathias Puozaa, for providing funds for the rehabilitation of a classroom at Balenia Primary school, which was burnt down by fire.

Mr. Puozaa, who attended the Assembly sitting for the first time, urged the Assembly to make conscious efforts to get the men responsible for the plight of the 30 girls and ensure that they face the full rigors of the law without fear or favour.

He said should the practice be allowed to continue, the future of girls in the district would be doomed, stressing, therefore, that the perpetrators must be brought to book to serve as a deterrent to others.

The MP appealed to the Assembly and the District Education Directorate to ensure that the girls were sent back to school after delivery to enable them to continue with their education.