Students abandon school to gamble
Some schoolchildren at Sankubenase in the Atiwa District in the Eastern Region have abandoned school to engage in gambling because of the numerous gambling machines installed in the town.
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Checks by the Junior Graphic revealed that due to the availability and easy access to the gambling machines, some of the children leave home early in the morning in their school uniforms but end up at the gambling centres without the knowledge of their parents.
During a visit to the town, it was discovered that majority of the pupils spend long hours gambling, especially in the evenings, instead of studying or going home to rest.
The gambling machines, which have been allegedly installed by some Chinese nationals, have been rented out to the indigenes in the town. The gambling games are two types - the jackpot, which is played by adults above 18 years, and what the locals refer to as game centre, meant for children.
For every five minutes spent at the game centre, the losing party is expected to pay 20 pesewas to the winner and this entices the players to spend hours gambling in order to win more money.
Kwabena, a Junior High School (JHS) student confirmed that he and other children often engage in gambling but pointed out that unlike others who gambled to win money, he did so for fun, adding that he often used the surplus of his pocket money for that.
Kwaku, another JHS student, said the game had become so popular among children that “some students steal money from their parents to engage in gambling.”
Kwaku, who claimed he regularly patronised the gambling centres, said he used the money he earned from weeding people’s farms for gambling.
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Gambling has corrupted their morals
The Chief of Sankubenase, Osabarima Nana Asiedu Boafo II, told the Junior Graphic in an interview that the installation of the gambling machines in the town had corrupted and destroyed the morals of some youth of the town.
“They rush to the game centres to gamble early in the morning. Some even sneak there with their girlfriends in the evening. Indeed, a nine-year-old boy was brought before me for stealing and squandering his uncle’s hard-earned GH¢300 in gambling. I can count 10 of these gambling centres in my town alone,” he disclosed.
He said when he first discovered the installation of the gambling machines in the town in November last year, he confronted the Chinese owners but they refused to talk to him. It was much later that he learnt from some members of the traditional council that the Chinese claimed they had the license to operate.
Later, after reporting the matter to the Atiwa District Assembly and the District Police Command to take action, Osabarima Boafo II said he caused an announcement to be made banning children from gambling or going to the centres.
He said although the ban was heeded for some time, the children had started going to the centres again.
He, therefore, appealed to stakeholders: The District Assembly, the Police, the Member of Parliament for the area and the District Security Council (DISEC) to take action to stop the gambling activities in the town.
Curbing the problem of gambling
In an interview with the Headmaster of Sankubenase R/C JHS (which happens to be the only JHS in the town), Mr Emmanuel Simpson, he said the gambling machines had contributed to poor attendance, which affects the academic performance of students.
“Some miss class tests while others are unable to do their project work because of their constant absence from school. This has generally affected the promotion of students to the next class,” he added.
Mr Simpson said to solve the problem, the school instituted a programme of sending the strong boys in the school to town to bring any student found gambling back to the school, especially during school hours.
Students who were caught, he explained, were first warned to stop the practice and subsequently punished if they repeated the offence.
The Police and the District Assembly
When both the District Police Commander of the Atiwa District, DSP John Yeboah, and the District Coordinating Director, Mrs Stella Owusu-Aduomi, were contacted, they said they were not aware of the installation of the gambling machines in the town.
Mrs Owusu-Aduomi said at the assembly’s general assembly last year, they banned the installation of gambling machines in the district and so she was not aware some had defied the order.
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She promised to refer the matter to the District Police Commander to investigate for the necessary action to be taken.
For his part, DSP Yeboah promised to take the necessary steps to arrest those who allowed minors to gamble.