From Isaac Akwetey-Okunor
The Member of Parliament (MP) for the Atiwa East Constituency in the Atiwa District, Abena Osei Asare, has expressed grave concern over the rate of pregnancies recorded in the just-ended Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) in the region.
In all, 30 pregnancies were recorded in five districts, which are Atiwa, Lower Manya, Kwahu South, Ayesuano and Birem North and South, recording 12, 8, 3, 5, and 1 in that order, with a certain 16-year-old girl of the Akyem Apiredi Junior High School (JHS) in the Birim South District, giving birth to a bouncing baby boy whilst writing her exam.
The tally was part of 41,522 candidates, comprising of 22,312 boys and 19,320 girls, who sat for the examinations at the various 154 centres, with 164 invigilators across the Eastern Region. Speaking to the file in an exclusive interview, the Atiwa East MP reiterated that the country would pay dearly in the near future if an antidote was not found for this cancer that is gaining momentum every year.
She has, therefore, called on the government and other key stakeholders to brainstorm on the way forward, in an effort to address the concerns associated with this canker. Even though she was not sure of the factors, she attributed the worrying situation to economic conditions compelling the young girls to indulge in sexual activities, so end up being impregnated.
To set the pace, Abena Asare said she is going to embark on a project dubbed “Save Your Girl Child’s Future” to encourage parents and their children in the constituency on the need to take their destinies into their hands. She explained that the programme would be in partnership with other non-governmental organisations that have the development of the girl child at heart, to organise various fora and seminars on sex education.