By Edward Williams, GNA
Hohoe (V/R), Sept. 15, GNA – Ms Alberta Duhoe, Volta/Oti Regional Commissioner of Girl Guides Association, has called on parents and caregivers to actively support and reinforce the principles of gender equality and social inclusion at home.
She said they must do so by engaging in open conversations and setting positive examples that could shape the children’s perspectives.
Miss Duhoe, also a Senior Tutor at the St Francis College of Education, in a speech on the fifth graduation ceremony of the Momo Montessori Academy, Hohoe, noted that the family was the primary source of influence on a child’s attitude and values.
She said, “as parents, let us eschew the virtue of making one gender feel more important and supported than the other at home.”
Ms Duhoe said parents and caregivers must teach all their children, irrespective of the gender, how to discharge specific roles at home.
She said it was imperative that attention was focused on the foundational institutions of society, basic schools, and the critical role that stakeholders played in promoting gender equality and social inclusion within the institutions.
“Basic education forms the bedrock of our society, where young minds are moulded, and lifelong values are inculcated,” she said.
Miss Duhoe said teachers as guiding lights in a student’s life had a responsibility to create a classroom environment that promoted gender equality and social inclusion.
She said teachers must strive to inculcate appropriate virtues that would build the children in all spheres to make them good citizens.
Miss Duhoe called on policymakers to ensure that the curriculum was inclusive, diverse, and free from gender biases.
She noted that engaging and gender friendly curricula would not only empower the children to become great initiators of good policies and programmes but also open up their minds to becoming employers of all genders in their work places without attaching conditions that might not favour some.
Miss Duhoe noted that communities played a pivotal role in creating an inclusive school environment because an active community involvement fostered a sense of belonging and shared responsibility.
She said the students could be champions of gender equality and social inclusion by challenging stereotypes, promoting respect, and fostering friendships regardless of gender or background.
The occasion was on the theme: “Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Awareness in Basic Schools: The Role of Stakeholders.”
Mrs Comfort Honu-Agbley, Founder and Proprietress of the School, noted that the support, dedication and unwavering commitment by parents and guardians to the growth and development of their wards had played a vital role in their successes.
She commended the transitional graduates for their hard work, perseverance and the growth they achieved.
Master Asimenu Courage, School Prefect, said their future dreams were to see an increased enrollment, cordial teacher-pupil relationship, maintaining clean environment and gender balanced leadership skills.
He suggested that the school’s prefectural system be always democratic by elections and not nominations nor appointments.
GNA