Accra, Nov. 26, - Mr Godwin
Avenorgbo, the Director of Communications for Melcom Group of Companies, has
called on policy makers to formulate laws that will deal with perpetrators of
sexual abuse.
He said it was time to legislate
and bring into being a Sexual Offenders Act that would make it mandatory to
publish the photographs, names, addresses of all who were convicted of
defilement, rape and sexual assault.
Mr Avenorgbo was the Guest
Speaker at the Third Speech and Prize Giving Day of Accra Wesley Girls High
School on the theme: “Mobilizing for National Development, The Girl-Child in
Perspective”.
He expressed the view that this
would go a long way to engage such perverts in a battle of minds in a ‘Name and
Shame’ game that they could not win.
Mr Avenorgbo said many young
girls suffered injury or dropped out of school due to sexual abuse, defilement,
sexual assault among other things, however, the perpetrators of such heinous
crimes were often protected by the chiefs, family elders, clan heads, parents,
police and even pastors.
He asked: "How do we
mobilise for development successfully when we leave behind our young women by
committing such irresponsible acts that dehumanise womanhood?"
He recommended for policies that
could increase classroom facilities, library services, supply of books and
teaching aids to pave way for a systematic de-boardinisation programme with the
view to making schools like Accra Wesley Girls attractive for a larger intake
of students.
Mr Avenorgbo said the allocation
of residential facilities, where they were available, must be in favour of the
girl-child to reduce the disturbing development of parents renting or seeking
for accommodation of female students.
He said the School had a good
Headmistress and must be supported to succeed in raising standards.
He called for the establishment
of a scheme that could inculcate in students entrepreneurship development.
“We cannot wait for this to
become a national policy otherwise it will never happen; we can innovate by
creating short extracurricular sessions where role models can come to share
experiences with the student body,” he added.
Mr Avenorgbo said there was a lot
of goodwill in the community where the School is located; as some of Ghana’s
business houses are within a walking distance from Accra Wesley Girls.
Mr Avenorgbo tasked School
Authorities to make relentless but strategic marketing effort to knock at the
doors of those companies to support the provision of facilities and services
that would aid teaching and learning.
Mrs Cynthia Essibrey Annan, the
Headmistress of the School, said all efforts at achieving discipline and
excellence could be summarised into two main activities namely; Character
Formation and Academic Work.
She said the binding factor of
those two disciplines in an era where rights were often stressed without
corresponding responsibilities; one needed to understand that every choice had
a corresponding responsibility.
Mrs Annan noted that as a school
their challenges were beyond their financial capabilities and would need urgent
attention from government and other stakeholders to enhance teaching and
learning and promote health and safety on the compound.
She said these include the
construction of 18 unit classroom block, accommodation for Staff and the Head
of the School, vehicle for official duties and a wall around the school to
prevent intruders.
As part of the ceremony, the
School honoured Melcom Group of Companies for its immense contribution towards
the development of the School, which include furnished of the School’s Sick
Bay.
GNA
No comments:
Post a Comment