Female students in the country have been advised to stay away from actions that may result in male teachers harassing them sexually.
Gifty Twum Ampofo, the Deputy Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, who made the call was addressing a durbar to climax the annual mathematics week organised by Ladies in Mathematics (LIM) in collaboration with the Ghana Mathematics Society in the Ekumfi District on Thursday.
According to her, the rate at which male teachers were alleged to be harassing female students sexually was being rampant, hence the call.
She noted, students should see their teachers as their parents no matter how young, old, handsome, beautiful or tiny they look, they should treat them with dignity.
Using a local adage, the Abuakwa North Member of Parliament (MP) said, “a child cracks snails but not tortoise, so see yourselves as children….. “. She then advised them to always be in an open place when a male teacher wants to send them.
“A child should be submissive to a teacher because he’s there as your father but whenever a teacher wants to send you, girls listen to me carefully, make sure you receive the message at where somebody could see you from behind, when you’re returning the message, make sure that you deliver the results where somebody could see you, if the teacher is in the classroom and he’s sitting behind the door where no one will see you, don’t send there whatever he sent you to, if you are to carry books to your teacher’s house, yes, teacher can’t carry the books; is your own books, you take to the teacher’s house maximum you open the door and you push the books into the room and you lock it back, don’t enter the room,” She said amidst cheers from the gathering.
She was however quick to say that, “teachers, I’m not saying that when they enter your room you do something but in darkness, in secrecy, anything is possible, what if the child says that I entered the teacher’s room and he did something meanwhile you didn’t even touch her so it is for our own good, as we advise the salted fish, we advise the cat as well”.
The program was aimed at sensitising the minds of mathematics teachers and female students in the district the importance and easy use of mathematical principles to achieve better results in examinations and help enhance the lifestyle of the citizenry and was organized by LIM, the only three female mathematics teachers at the JHS level in the district.
Speaking on the theme: “Encouraging the Girl-Child to develop interest in the study of Mathematics towards Nation Building”, the immediate past principal of Komenda College of Education, Madam Gladys Annan-Nonoo, who was the main speaker for the program, underscored the need for everyone to take mathematics studies serious, saying, knowledge in mathematics enables one to put his or her life in an orderly movements and prevents them from mismanagement and confusion.
She explained, “in what ever occupation, profession,career, job you find yourself, you need to move mathematically, a cook, caterer, baker, needs the right quantity of all her ingredients to get a nice meal for her customers or students, a carpenter needs correct measurements and correct mixture for his work, masons need the right quantity of water, stones, sand to a bag of cement as well as number of blocks to complete a project”.
Describing the study of mathematics as not something difficult, she however blamed some teachers of mathematics for not using Teaching Learning Materials (TLMs) and the easiest methods in teaching the subject.
“Mr chairman, the teacher teaching mathematics to the girl-child should he or herself have an open minded attitude to teach the subject, he should encourage and use all practical approach to attract and alert the girl-child so that she can develop priority in the learning of the subject”.
In attendance were the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Ekumfi, Hon B.B. Grant, the acting President of the GMS, Augustine Gator, Officers from the District’s Education directorate, heads, teachers and students (mostly females) from some of the schools in the district.
For her part, the President of the LIM, Ms Elizabeth Amissah Oppong, entreated the female students to remove the fear they have for mathematics studies and rather catch up with the males.
According to her, the theme was carefully selected to fit in the vision of President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo.
“We believe no girl from this district should miss the SHS boat just because she couldn’t pass mathematics…….as you can see here, we are the only female maths teachers who teach at the JHS in the whole district, all our counterparts are males so Ladies In Mathematics we are very privileged to come together to inculcate the interest of studying mathematics in our girl-child students”, she explained.
- Source:ghananewsonline.com.GH