By
Eunice Hilda Ampomah, GNA
Accra, Nov.13, GNA –
Professor Uche Amazigo, a retired
director of the African Programme for Onchocerciasis, has said the provision of
absolute free education to pupils by States at the basic level reduce
significantly the rate of adolescent pregnancies.
African states must,
therefore, provide absolute free education for children, especially in deprived
communities to revise the situation.
A study she
spearheaded on the high level of illiteracy in the ‘Anambra State’, Nigeria,
revealed that poverty played a key role in reducing the interest of children,
especially girls in education.
She revealed the
findings, on Tuesday, at a Symposium organised in Accra by the Institute of
African Studies, University of Ghana (UG) in partnership with the Takemi
Program in International Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, on
the topic, “The SDG Era: Health, Equity and Education”.
She said financial
constraints made it impossible for girls to meet school requirements, such as
books, uniforms, desks, daily meals, examination fees, maintenance and Parent
Teacher Association levies.
Respondents of the
study explained that ‘free tuition was not free education,’ hence the plea on
the part of students and families for government to invest more into education
to cater for all expenses because that would enrich the interest of girls in
school, and deter them from engaging in premarital sex.
Another cause of
high illiteracy rate in the State and the entire sub-region, according to the
study, was the unintended neglect by state authorities, families and school
authorities to encourage children to prioritise education.
Prof. Friday E.
Okonofua, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Medical Sciences, Ondo
State, Nigeria, buttressing how poverty served as a hindrance to education
among children, said the menace was common on the continent.
It was time, he
said, to discuss the solutions but not problems, which were already widely
visible.
He urged African
states and institutions to establish indigenous capacity building institutions
and programmes to mentor adolescents to make informed decisions for their
welfare.
Professor Albert K.
Awedoba, Institute of African Studies, UG, making a presentation on a study
conducted in the Kasena Community in the Upper East Region, said some members
of the community perceived some diseases as that of women.
Sexually Transmitted
Diseases, especially HIV and gonorrhoea for instance, were tagged as a subset
of diseases transmitted by women, he said.
To others, early sex
led to stunted growth among girls.
He, therefore, urged
the researchers and policy makers to redirect focus on rural communities to
unearth the intentions and perceptions behind their attitudes towards women to
be able to adopt better ways of controlling the diseases.
Madam Onyinye
Onyemobi, the Programme Associate for Ford Foundation, West Africa, a hub that
advocates social justice, said the core focus of African States should be on
equitable distribution of natural resources to both gender parties.
To address issues of
injustice against women and girls, she advised that the underlying causes and
effects be addressed to reduce the violence meted to them.
“Women and girls
should be the leaders of change to hold States accountable and advocate for the
sanctioning of those who abuse them.”
GNA
