MPs call for more investment in education of teenagers
Members of Parliament (MPs) on Monday called for more investment in the education of teenagers to empower them to contribute to the development of the country.
Advertisement
They said the nation must also create the enabling environment for teenagers, especially girls, to unearth their potential.
The MPs were making contributions to mark World Population Day which fell on Monday.
A Minister of State at the Presidency, Mrs Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe-Ghansah, set the tone for the contribution by making a statement to mark the day held on the theme: "Investing in Teenage Girls".
Teenage girls
Mrs Cudjoe-Ghansah, who is also the MP for Ada, said according to statistics, teenage girls constituted 15 per cent of the country's population.
She said the large number of teenage girls presented a huge reservoir of energy which called for investment in them "to produce a healthy, well-educated and well-trained human capital to propel the country towards its development aspirations".
Mrs Cudjoe-Ghansah said educating a teenage girl required investment for the process to become more effective and sustainable to enable the country to produce the human capital that would create jobs and reduce poverty.
She called for intensive collaboration among ministries, departments and agencies and non-governmental organisations to ensure effective implementation and enforcement of policies and programmes.
She stressed the need for funding to be provided to enable relevant agencies to achieve the targets of improving the capacities of and opportunities for teenagers.
MPs’ contributions
The MP for Subin, Mr Isaac Osei, said investing in teenagers in terms of education, training and health was a prerequisite for development.
He said education opened the doors while training created opportunities for teenagers.
Mr Osei asked the government and parents to give teenagers space to develop their potential, since they were the future leaders.
The Second Deputy Majority Whip, Mr Ahmed Ibrahim, said when teenagers got the needed support, "they can contribute to the socio-economic development of the country".
He said many discoveries in the world were done by teenagers, hence the need for the country to create the enabling environment for them to realise their talents.
Mr Ibrahim expressed satisfaction that the myth sorrounding science education had been broken, and requested that teenagers be supported to go into the sciences.
The MP for Tarkwa-Nsuaem, Mrs Gifty Eugenia Kusi, said educating the girl-child would put her in a better position to give proper training to her children in the future.
She said it was wrong for some parents to give out the hands of girls in marriage in their bid to get financial reward.
Mrs Kusi, therefore, called for a concerted effort to discourage early and forced marriages.
