Root cause of youth indiscipline is bad parentage -Elder

Mpraeso, March 21, GNA - A member of Council of State, Nana Prah Agyensiam, the sixth, has attributed the high rate of indiscipline among the country's youth to bad parentage and called for more scientific approach to solve it.

He said the modern society is "so complicated and fragile" that it could not support emotional approach to solving a major social problem like indiscipline in society.

Nana Agyensiam was speaking as guest of honour at the 43rd Speech and Prize-Giving Day of the Mpraeso Secondary School (MPASS) at Mpraeso, in the Kwahu South District on yesterday.

He noted that students with indisciplined behaviour come from homes with rude parents, drunkards, drug addicts, criminal and illiterate parents "who have pampered their wards with illegal and dubiously acquired wealth."

Nana Agyensiam, who is also the Chief of Assin Kusia in the Central Region, therefore, urged the educational authorities to ensure that parents of indisciplined students who caused the destruction of public property should be made to sign an undertaking to pay for the cost of all properties destroyed by their wards while in school.

The Member of Council of State asked parents to be more concerned about improving the character of their children and avoid thinking that the responsibilities for their children's training ends at the school's gate.

In an address read on his behalf, the Minister of Youth, Education and Sports, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, called on school authorities to instil a high sense of discipline into students and take stern disciplinary measures against mischievous ones found to be fomenting trouble to pollute the minds of other students.

He said the growing instances of indiscipline and criminal tendencies among students, which included drug abuse, armed robbery, rape, drunkenness and illicit sex reflected directly in their academic performances in the final examinations.

Mr Baah-Wiredu said the government is providing infrastructure facilities at all levels of education in the country with funding from the HIPC, Saudi Fund and the GETfund and urged individuals, organisations and co-operate bodies to assist in the provision of other educational infrastructure such as teaching and learning materials to improve the education delivery system in the country.

The Headmaster of the school, Mr Patrick Owusu-Manu, enumerated a number of problems such as inadequate staff accommodation, girl's dormitory and over-aged school vehicle and appealed to the government, the Ministry of Education, the Member of Parliament, the District Assembly and other philanthropies to come to the aid of the school to complete initiated development projects.

He commended the Parents Teacher Association (PTA) and the past students association for construction a 1.4 billion-cedi dormitory for girls to increase the intake of girls in the school. Prizes were presented to deserving students and staff members.