Tamale, Aug. 25, GNA – The Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TaMA) branch of the National Service Personnel Association (NASPA) has urged various stakeholders to prioritize girls’ education in the country.
The Association made the request during a brief ceremony to present some sanitary pads and exercise books to some pupils of Zogbeli Junior High School (JHS) Block ‘C’ in the Tamale Metropolis.
Mr Bawa Sherif, NASPA President, TaMA, said it was important parents and other key stakeholders in education prioritize girls’ education to maximize their potentials towards growth and development in the country.
He said when girls are properly mentored in their youthful age, they turn to make well informed decisions that prepared them to become responsible citizens and noted that young girls in the country have great untapped potentials, which could only be realized if stakeholders and institutions adopt strategic measures to ensure that their basic needs were met.
Mr Issahaku Yakubu, a Nutritionist at the Tamale Central Hospital, urged stakeholders to ensure that young girls have nutritious and well – balanced diet to guarantee their health for effective learning to take place in school, adding that, “when their nutrition is compromised, it affects their growth both physically and mentally, which invariably influence their academic performance negatively”.
Mr Yakubu advised them to “Stay away from substance abuse, exercise your bodies regularly, and eat well because you lose a lot of blood during your menstruation period”.
Mr Yussif But-Sure, Headmaster, Zogbeli JHS Block ‘C’, expressed gratitude for the kind gesture, saying, it will encourage the pupils to take their studies seriously to become responsible citizens, saying, “Your kind gesture will serve as inspiration to the pupils, and this will go a long way to reduce incidences of school drop out”.
He said girls’ education in the region could no longer be undermined and called on stakeholders to intensify campaigns against child marriages, teenage pregnancies, and other forms of violence against women and children.
Miss Tanko Rafia, a pupil of Zogbeli JHS Block ‘C’ expressed gratitude to NASPA and said their kind gesture would help reduce girls’ absenteeism in school, especially during menstruation, and appealed to other organizations to continue supporting girls education for all inclusive growth and development of girls in the country.
Similar donations were made to the Datoyili and Zujung JHS in the Tamale Metropolis to motivate young girls to stay in schools.
GNA