In the late 1960s and early 1970s, all pupils in basic schools in Ghana were given a copy each of “Courtesy for Boys and Girls”.
These booklets were distributed free of charge to pupils. Pupils read them on a daily basis after their teachers had taken them through some topics in the book.This helped immensely in shaping the character and behaviour of children in society in those days.
These booklets suddenly disappeared from our schools with the passage of time.Today, we can all attest to the moral decadence in our society.Many older people abhor the kind of behaviour our children exhibit in schools and at home. This may largely be attributed to adults since some adults seem to see nothing wrong with what children do in the homes and at school. Most children also imitate what their parents, family members and or peers do.
When pupils do something wrong in school and teachers want to correct them by punishing them, parents will usually not take it kindly. This, coupled with other child and human rights laws, have put fear in most teachers.Teachers, therefore, only try to impart knowledge and ignore the behavioural aspect of pupils.
About 20 to 30 years ago, younger people used to offer their seats to older people in buses and other public places. This has, however, become a thing of the past.Older people are now seen daily standing in public buses and other public places, while children of even less than 10 years are seated comfortably and are not prompted by anything to offer their seats to these older people.Most parents these days seem to be so pre-occupied with their jobs that they have little or no time at all for the moral upbringing of their children; thus leaving them to do what they feel is right.
All well meaning Ghanaians who have this dear country at heart should help instil good moral behaviour in our children and help do away with the rot that is prevalent in our society today.
I take this opportunity to appeal to the Ghana Education Service and the Ministry of Education to enforce some of those rules and regulations that were used in the past to instil discipline in pupils and students in schools. The government’s support is essential in this regard to save our society from total decadence in the not too distant future.