By Fatima Anafu-Astanga
Bolgatanga Aug. 29, GNA – Mr Kwabena Amankwaa Asiamah, Chairman of the Education Committee of Parliament, has called for the provision of quality and inclusive education for children residing in witch camps.
He said education was a fundamental right for every child regardless of their circumstances.
He made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) following reports that children in such camps were often associated with stigmatised beliefs and deprived of quality basic education and other social opportunities.
Many of the children who live with their mothers and grandparents accused of witchcraft are often stigmatized in school by their peers, forcing some of them to drop out while others who remained in school are sometimes traumatized.
The children of the alleged witches who live in various camps in the Northern Regions of Ghana remain sidestepped because of the stigma and attendant challenges that result in high absenteeism and streetism.
Some of these vulnerable children aged between13 and 15 years had earlier interacted with the Ghana News Agency at the Gnani, Kukuo, Pantina and Gamage camps, all in the Northern and North East regions, where they shared their experiences living in the camps.
Speaking on the absence of schools in the camps for such children, Mr Asiamah said: “You can’t have a camp merit the building of a school, else you will be perpetuating what is unlawful to be lawful.”
He said such children should be enrolled in the mainstream schools around the camps to ensure inclusiveness.
He stressed the need to increase investment in the education sector to provide quality and inclusive education for all in the country.
He said education, a key goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), must be given all the needed attention by stakeholders, quoting Nelson Mandela as saying: “if there is any weapon that we can use to stem out poverty from among ourselves then it should be education.”
He said one could not determine the authenticity of who was a witch in Ghana’s laws and wondered why Ghanaians had lived with “this culture all these while.”
“It is, however, sad that Ghana has not been able to put a stop to the situation. Once it exists, we must find a solution to how the poor and vulnerable can be taken care of, he added.
Touching on the Anti-Witchcraft Bill, which is yet to be assented to by the President, Mr Asiamah said the law, when passed, would deter people from accusing the vulnerable and aged of witchcraft.
“Even without the president assenting to it, the situation is serious, and it is the responsibility of the various assemblies and district directors of education and Social Welfare to ensure that all children go to school,” he said.
“The traditional authorities must also step up efforts to protect the children and ensure that they are in school because basic education is free in Ghana.”
GNA