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Editorial News of Monday, 29 July 2002

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Homosexuality in schools; GES Orders Probe

Tema (The Ghanaian Times) -- The Tema Municipal Directorate of Education has ordered an investigation into allegations of homosexuality among male student within the Municipality. Mr. Victor Tetteh, the Municipal Directorate of Education, announced this at the 13th Speech and Prize Giving Day of the Sunbeam Montessori School, at Adenta at the weekend.

"He said reports reaching my office from the grapevine indicate that in many of our schools our young boys have fallen prey to homosexuality". He asked parents to observe their sons for any unusual conducts and traits that might predispose them to that act to enable them to curb that "unacceptable behaviour" in the schools.

Mr. Tetteh said that drug abuse, sexual promiscuity and other vices were sources of concern in the schools. He advised proprietors of private schools not to let the desire to get rich override their moral obligation of bringing up the children responsibly. "Children found to be indulging in these acts should be singled out and disciplined irrespective of who their parents are. It is only when this is done that others will be deterred from initiating them, he stressed.

The Municipal Director said, "Yesterday it was our parents who were trooping to schools to assault teachers for disciplining their wards. Today, it is the pupils and students who are marching to the schools with firearms and other dangerous weapons to attack teachers in the full glare of parents and the community." He said the situation required the collective action of all to overcome it.

Mr. Tetteh therefore, appealed to political, religious and traditional leaders to "join forces and collectively fight alien and unfortunate happening creeping into our schools."

Earlier, Mr Ohene Opare, three proprietor of the school said that the school was training students to be honest, dedicated and people of integrity to serve the country and the world at large. He appealed to parents and guardians to visit the school regularly to observe what their children were doing so as to boost their moral and help them to achieve excellence.