Editorial
Let’s address streetism together
Streetism in Ghana is becoming a serious problem that requires immediate attention to prevent it from getting worse.
These days, it is common to see mothers relaxing in the shade as their children as young as two years stroll along the streets begging for alms from oncoming vehicles and onlookers.
This typically occurs around busy intersections and thoroughfares, like the ring road, the Kwame Nkrumah Circle area, the Atomic Junction roundabout, and the airport area, among others.
Every day, more and more children are discovered living on the streets. This is unsafe and starting to become an annoyance, therefore action needs to be taken to stop the situation from getting worse.
The United Nations estimates that around 61,492 people under the age of 18 are on the streets in the Greater Accra region of Ghana alone.
Even though there has been progress in offering assistance and services to homeless children, there is still much work to be done to completely eradicate the issue.
In fact, a number of reasons have contributed to this threat, including the challenging socioe-economic conditions that families are facing, rising urbanisation, poverty, a lack of family support, divorce, family violence, low levels of education, and single parenting.
These children are more vulnerable to malnourishment, illness, and injury since they often do not have access to basic needs such as clothing, food, shelter, and healthcare. They are exposed to harsh weather, which frequently results in a range of ailments and health issues.
According to research, children who grow up on the streets are often the ones who take up social vices including drug addiction, prostitution, armed robbery, and other similar behaviours.
The Spectator believes that public education should be used to raise awareness of streetism’s detrimental effects on children’s development in order to combat it.
Furthermore, in order to effectively combat streetism, we implore the government, churches, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), the community, and philanthropists, among others, to grant access to social services.
In light of this, The Spectator praises the government for recently cutting the sod to allow for the development of a two-storey facility that will offer comprehensive care for street children in the nation’s capital.
The “Mother Teresa Soup Kitchen” (MTSK) is intended to provide the impoverished and homeless children living on Accra’s streets with at least one healthy meal per day in addition to counselling and skill development.
“This project hopes to take children off the street starting from this very community and propel it nationwide,” Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia stated when he cut the sod for the project,
He continued, “When this project takes off, Mother Teresa Soup Kitchen will be the biggest action by a private individual and an NGO against the menace of street children in Ghana.”
Let us work together to combat streetism throughout the nation.
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) will administer the 2026 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in Ghana from Monday, May 4, 2026, to Monday, May 11, 2026, for both school and private candidates.
For Junior High School (JHS) students, it is a crucial evaluation that covers both core and elective areas, such as English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, French, and Ghanaian Language among others.
A total of 619,985 candidates comprising 304,273 males and 315,712 females have been registered to write this final examination for JHS students.
In order to prevent examination misconduct, which damages the legitimacy of the educational system and skews the results of student assessments, candidates are expected to follow the regulations of the examination by WAEC.
Anyone found engaging in examination misconduct will face harsh penalties under WAEC Act 719.
As a result, the Spectator is advising all candidates to be cautious of the directives and make a commitment to always act morally.
We also implore supervisors and invigilators to refrain from any wrongdoing because invigilators have found themselves in trouble in the past.
It is common to feel anxious at examination but we advise candidates not to panic during this time because if they do, their brains will not be able to recall what they have learned.
Relax and you will be able to recall the majority of the material you have studied, but if for some reason you are unable to remember do not be afraid. Leaving a question unanswered is better than receiving a sanction from WAEC due to examination misconduct.
During this time, we expect parents to help their children by providing a peaceful, distraction-free study space and making sure they eat healthily and get enough sleep.
We wish every BECE candidate all the best for the examination, including good health, mental clarity, and protection.
Dear Editor
I wish to use your esteemed platform to welcome Mr Carlos Queiroz, our new coach for our senior national male football team, the Black Stars.
We have read a lot about him and I think looking at his CV, he represents our biggest ‘catch’ in this business.
When his name came up initially, some of us doubted whether we could land him considering our scarce resources.
A coach with experiences with Real Madrid, Manchester United at club sides and national team romance with South Africa and Iran speaks volumes of what he brings to the table.
However, we must not forget that CVs don’t play football. Football is played on the pitch and it is therefore the reason why the noise about his arrival must end and watch out for what he brings to the table.
Currently, we don’t have players we could call world class. Those that comes near that label like Mohammed Kudus and Mohammed Salisu are injured.
The only player making waves in Europe at the moment is Antoine Semenyo of Manchester City.
Carlos Queiroz is not coming as a magician. He would need players who are committed and very good enough. At this moment, we should be praying and supporting him to get the best out of our players.
Directly, I want to appeal to him to take a serious look at the players in individually and access their qualities before bringing them on board.
Some of the players are very good but have just failed or struggled to perform in the Black Stars jersey. One of his task must be to break that ice.
We need nothing bust the best for the World Cup. As Ghanaians let’s support Queiroz to get the best out of the players available.
Andy Muller,
Accra
