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‘Establish guidance, counselling centres for school children’
A board Member of the Boy Child Supportive Care Foundation (BCSCF), Reverend Father Hector Quartey, has urged government and agencies responsible for education to establish a dedicated department for guidance and counseling in schools.
According to him, this department would provide a safe and confidential space for students to share their concerns and challenges with trained professionals instead of confiding in teachers who were not trained in that field.
Rev. Fr Quartey made the call at an outreach session with some Basic and Junior High School boys in the Dome-Kwabenya Constituency to commemorate the International Day of the Boy Child.
It was organised by the BCSCF on the theme; “Boys and Their Mental Well-Being, their Needs to Feel Happy, Healthy and Valued within Family and Community.”
International Day of the Boy Child is a day celebrated annually on May 16, to recognise the importance of boys’ wellbeing and some challenges they face.
“By creating such a system, the foundation believes that schools can better support students, including both boys and girls, and help them overcome their challenges,” the Board Member noted.
Additionally, he asserted that creating such a department would allow students to feel more comfortable discussing sensitive issues with professionals who were not their teachers, allowing for more open and honest communication, that would enable schools to identify and address issues earlier and provide targeted support to students who needed it most.
Rev. Quartey stated that statistics show that boys were more likely to struggle with drug addiction and other issues due to societal expectations and upbringing, adding that to combat this, the organisation provides support and guidance to help boys develop positive values and wayward behaviours.
“The foundation’s ultimate goal is to promote positive masculinity and empower young males to become responsible and caring individuals who contribute to the well-being of their communities, by working together with schools and government agencies,” he said.
The Founder and Chief Execu¬tive Officer of BCSCF, Ms Edna Korama Yamoah, said the outreach that brought together over 1,000 boys focused on the mental health and well-being of a boy child.
This, she said aimed to raise awareness about the challenges boys face, including depression and mental health issues, drug addiction among others.
She emphasised the need for more support and understanding for boys, who were often perceived as being more resilient than girls.
“Boys are more vulnerable than girls in many ways, so its important government dedicate the day to celebrating the boy child and provide support for organisations working to promote their well-being,” she highlighted.
By Cecilia Yada Lagba
News
Minister for Education leads monitoring visit to BECE Centres
As part of efforts to encourage candidates writing the 2025 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE), the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrissu has led a government delegation to the 5 Garrison Education Centre and Emmause Cluster of Schools earlier today in Accra.
The visit aimed at monitoring the conduct of the examination, interacting with candidates, and offering words of motivation.
The minister urged the students to remain focused, confident, and determined, encouraging them to do their best to make themselves and the nation proud.
Accompanying the Education minister were the Minister for Defence, Edward Omane Boamah; Deputy Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs and Member of Parliament for La Dadekotopon, Rita Naa Odoley Sowah and the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Prof. Ernest Davis.
The rest included the Chief Director of the Ministry of Education, Mrs. Maamle Andrews; and the Municipal Chief Executive for La Dadekotopon, Alfredos Nii Anyetei.
Other dignitaries present also reiterated government’s commitment to educational excellence and the holistic development of every Ghanaian child.
News
Interior Minister calls for correctional reform as Prisons Service graduates New Officers
Speaking at the Passing-Out Parade of Recruit Course 125 at Ankaful Prison Officers’ Training School in the Central Region, the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak has emphasized the need for correctional reform in Ghana, highlighting the government’s commitment to transforming the Prisons Service into a modern correctional facility that focuses on rehabilitation, reformation and reintegration.
He noted that Government remains committed to expanding vocational training, educational programmes and productive inmate enterprises that reinforce rehabilitation, reformation and reintegration.
The minister pointed out that correctional facilities must become centers of reform, not just detention.
According to him, “is not an act of charity but a strategic investment in national security and human capital. When we empower an inmate with employable skills, we reduce the opportunity for that inmate to re-offend. Rehabilitation and reformation do not occur in isolation but must be linked to purposeful activity.”
To give practical effect to this policy, Muntaka Mohamed-Mubarak announced that Government will scale up support for prison-based ventures, saying that entures such as carpentry, tailoring, agriculture, and industrial operations, including bottled water production, will be central to a sustainable, self-reliant correctional economy.
The Minister also directed all institutions under the Ministry for the Interior to prioritise the purchase of bottled water and toilet rolls produced by the Ghana Prisons Service.
This, he said, will not only reduce the financial burden on the state but also generate revenue and promote inmates’ productivity.
He reassured the leadership and personnel of the Ghana Prisons Service of the Government’s unwavering support, emphasizing that the commitment goes beyond improving logistics and infrastructure to reforming the very foundation of correctional practice in Ghana.
Muntaka Mubarak urged the new officers to serve with integrity, compassion, and professionalism, and assured them that their actions would reflect the high standards of the Service and the trust the nation has placed in them.
