Eighteen pupils from 13 Junior High Schools (JHSs) in the Nanumba South District of the Northern Region who got pregnant have been sent home to deliver before returning to school, Mohammed Ben Ibrahim, the District Guidance and Counselling Coordinator, has revealed.
Ben Ibrahim, who announced this at a capacity building workshop in Tamale on Tuesday for District Guidance and Counselling Coordinators in the Northern Region, said he made the discovery during his recent tour of the schools in the district this year.
The workshop, organised by the Northern Regional Directorate of the Ghana Education Service (GES) and funded by NORSAAC, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), was to equip the guidance and counselling coordinators to effectively carry out their functions in the schools.
Mr. Ben Ibrahim blamed the situation on poor parental guidance.
He said there were only six trained guidance and counselling professionals at the district with 89 Junior High Schools which negatively affects guidance and counselling services for pupils.
Linda Amoah, Northern Regional Guidance and Counselling Coordinator, tasked the District Guidance and Counselling Coordinators to help tackle teenage pregnancy and indiscipline in schools in the region.
She said a proper functioning guidance and counselling unit should help pupils to overcome their problems without resorting to riot, as well as help them to avoid teenage pregnancy.
Hafsatu Sey Sumani, Head of Programmes and Policy at NORSAAC, said it sponsored the workshop as part of efforts to support sensitisation on sexual and reproductive health rights which was key in addressing issues of teenage pregnancy.
GNA