B/A Basic Schools Festival of Arts opens at Nkoranza

Nkoranza(BAR), Aug. 12, GNA - Mrs Akua Debrah, Brong-Ahafo Regional Director of Education, has urged traditional authorities to re-introduce puberty rites to check the increasing rate of teenage pregnancy and drop-outs among girls. Mrs Debrah made the call when addressing the opening session of the 12th Brong Ahafo Regional Basic Schools Festival of Arts at Nkoranza Children's Park. It is under the theme: "Culture; A Tool for Societal Transformation".

She expressed concern about moral decadence among the youth, which had led to most teenage girls becoming pregnant and refused to further their education. "Puberty rites of old, which enabled young girls to grow to maturity before bearing children should be encouraged to address the problem," she said. Mrs Debrah noted that dowries, funerals and child-naming ceremonies had become so expensive among Ghanaians that "we have allowed foreign cultures to control these events which should be modernized". She stressed the need for teachers to use teaching of culture to prepare the youth to lead morally upright lives and grow to become disciplined and law-abiding citizens.

Mr Kwame Amporfo-Twumasi, Member of Parliament for Nkoranza South and Deputy Minister for Energy, called on the youth to respect their culture, since culture made people to appear differently from others. He said since culture was dynamic, there was the need for traditional rulers to improve on outmoded customs and norms in their areas for the people to change and be able to face challenges of the global world.