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Cohabitation high among university students – Prof. Yaa Oduro
Prof. Yaa Oduro
A study conducted by the University of Cape Coast (UCC) has found a high and growing incidence of cohabitation among university students living in private hostels.
Cohabitation is to live together and have a sexual relationship without being married.
The situation is attributed to the extreme freedom in the private hostels enjoyed by the students, unlike the traditional university halls where some control mechanisms have been instituted.
In a few cases, the students put their resources together to rent the space for economic reasons.
While the majority of students thought cohabitation was bad, a few perceived it as good, fun and normal.
The study, which was also conducted in some adjoining communities found that the practice was contributing highly to teenage pregnancy and child marriage.
Professor Georgina Yaa Oduro, the Head of the Sociology and Anthropology Department at UCC, shared the findings at a workshop on ending child marriage and Gender-based violence for some traditional council registrars from eight regional houses of chiefs and the National House of Chiefs.
The training, organised by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, sought to deepen the understanding of the registrars on child marriage, gender-based violence and other harmful practices to help them function effectively.
“If you are on campus and in the halls, you have the hall masters, tutors, and the hall council to control you. In the all-female halls, for example, guys cannot visit the halls after 10:00 p.m,” Prof. Oduro said.
“But in the private hostels, comparatively, you have the freedom to do whatever you want.” Prof. Oduro said the partners performed all the roles of married couples including sex and domestic chores such as cooking, washing and giving out money.
Some of the students, particularly the young women who had to juggle academic work and domestic chores for their partners, sometimes missed lectures or attended late, affecting their studies, she noted.
Like in the communities, she observed that cohabitation among students was also characterised by gender-based violence such as forced sex, abortions and quarrels often due to the freedom in such relationships
She narrated how a 22-year-old male student of UCC died by suicide this year following a misunderstanding with his partner he was cohabiting with. Many of those relationships unfortunately ended after school, she noted.
The professor noted that very little attention had been given to the issue and called for concerted efforts by stakeholders, including parents, lecturers, school authorities, and traditional and religious leaders, to mitigate it.
Prof. Oduro observed with worry the abuse of emergency contraceptives by young girls and cautioned against the same.
“It is my understanding that such pills are supposed to be taken once in six months or so. But for some children today, it’s their everyday pill,” she stated with concern. –GNA
The Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak, has accepted an apology from the Minority leader in Parliament following allegations of corruption in the recruitment process of the security services.
Speaking in Parliament yesterday, he indicated that the accusations were painful because they portrayed his actions in a way that suggested criminal wrongdoing.
“It is painful to be wrongly accused or for your actions to be misconstrued and labelled differently from your intention, especially when it is linked with criminality and serious wrongdoing,” he stated.
Mr Mubarak noted that although he was deeply hurt and worried by the allegations, he had decided to accept the apology wholeheartedly.
According to him, the issue should guide members of the House and public officials to focus on ensuring that the right things are done without attempting to destroy one another.
He assured the Minority that the Interior Ministry and the various security service commanders remain committed to transparency and accountability in their work.
The Minister added that the ministry would be ready to address any concerns raised by the Minority or other members of Parliament regarding recruitment into the security services.
He further appealed to the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to consider expunging from the parliamentary records the false comments.
Mr Mubarak expressed appreciation to the Speaker for handling the matter and emphasised the need for cooperation among members of Parliament to ensure fairness and proper oversight.
By: Jacob Aggrey
THE Gospel Advocates (TGA), a non-denominational evangelistic Christian organisation last Saturday donated a number of educational logistics to the Dodi Asantekrom Basic School in the Eastern region of Ghana.
The gesture was to mark the seventh anniversary of the organisation made up of professionals committed to preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ to students in senior high schools, particularly in rural communities.
TGA also seeks to inspire students towards attaining academic excellence and guiding them towards optimising the various learning opportunities and academic programmes available at the tertiary level.
Among the items donated were 100 desks, 10 cupboards, 10 desktop computers, two laptops, 10 teachers’ tables and chairs and others.
The group also held its annual outreach programme that had a significant impact in the community through initiatives such as feeding 500 children with hot meals and assorted drinks, providing free medical screening and drugs for 500 adults and youth and conducting health education and sensitisation for both children and adults.
TGA also took upon itself to restock the community clinic with essential medicines and distributed food items, plastic bowls, cups and clothing to members of the community.
The initiative, according to officials of the group, was supported by ORSAM Limited, Doctors Save Lives Foundation, Johnson Tord Foundation, El-Shaddai Mothercare, Exceed Alliance Limited, GB Foods Ghana Limited, Qualiplast Limited, Phyto-Riker (Gihoc) Pharmaceuticals Limited, Cosa Bright Ghana, Kabs Pharmacy, Tobinco Pharmaceuticals, Pill Bay Pharmacy and Bamah 3.7.7.
“We are deeply grateful for their immense support and partnership in bringing hope, relief, and practical assistance to the people of Dodi Asantekrom,” the officials said.
In a statement, the President and Chairman of The Gospel Advocates, Mr. Selom Kpikpitse, said the donation to Dodi Asantekrom forms part of TGA’s broader mission to propagate the gospel of Jesus Christ among students and youth in rural communities through teachings, music and arts.
He explained that the meals provided to over 500 pupils were in line with the organization’s annual “Feed the Kidz Project,” which demonstrates Christ’s love.
Receiving the items on behalf of the school, the Headmaster, Mr. Otumfour Newton, expressed gratitude to TGA and its sponsors, saying that “the items would significantly enhance teaching and learning while improving the overall welfare and development of the pupils.”
Mr. Newton also commended the team for the free medical screenings for adults and youth in the community, and other community engagements.
Medical supplies were also donated to the Dodi Asantekrom CHPS compound and received on behalf of the facility by Mr. Amefu, a Physician Assistant.
By Spectator Reporter
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