The conundrums of young people in Ghana

In the recent past there had been much discussion about problems of young people. Only last year much attention was been devoted to occultism in schools. This has moved another gear to 419 via sakawa and occultism via sakawa. On the other hand there are many positive developments among young people. Young people have a very great voluntary spirit and have a great energy to devote to helping their communities. Unfortunately these positive developments do not attract much attention, because 'only bad news is news'.

While waiting for a more scientific result on the source of these deviant behavioural problems, we can locate a few issues. One is the inability of many young people to make it in life. Competition is very hectic and the silent attitude of 'survival of the fittest drives many young people to frustration.

Another cause of such behavioural problems is a protest at society. Young people test their maturity by indulging in deviant behaviour. Of course this makes them the centre of attraction. In our culture, children are only shown some affection when they are crying. Hardly do parents conscientiously hold their children and show any affection to them. Children only get attention when they cry.

Naturally something is lacking in young people's formation already as children. Often times the only time young people attract the attention of their parents is to get a beating or a strong reprimand. Hardly would one hear a parent telling the child 'I love you'. Children have not enjoyed the loving touch of their parents and this significantly affects their relations with others when they grow up. So the only time they touch someone is during a fight.

Parents must invest time and more energy in the upbringing of their children. Parents must show love to their children by paying attention to them when they are happy and as well when they are crying. Of course most children grow up in divorced homes. Single mothers who are at the same time working mothers find it extremely difficult to combine household headship with the individual care of their children. Besides our society is still male-dominated such that, children even consider mothers as 'soft' and too tolerant.

The state must also spend extra money to invest in the formation of young people. Investment in public schools, in adequate teaching and learning resources all serve as investment in young people. To combine higher school fees with a decent meal a day is the greatest headache for most parents in Ghana. It would be extremely appreciated if the state would take a larger part of the school fees or contribute more to public school funding, so as to raise the standard of public schools.

One area of the school environment which I consider very important is the role of a Guidance and Counselling Co-ordinator. Currently all teachers are assigned teaching duties or as housemasters/mistresses and they have many students to attend to. But Guidance and Counselling is at the heart of the total formation of young people. If we could only consider this Co-ordinator as an equally important element in our school system, we would employ full-time Counsellors for our schools. This requirement is especially true of schools in the Boarding system. Equally important for emotional maturity are co-curricula activities such as sports-games, entertainment and inter-school activities. Here boys and girls learn to play and touch each other in a healthy manner. Boys see girls as mates in a formation process and vice versa. The idea is actually to help young people learn that boys and girls are human persons and not objects.

Another important source of investment is in health. The Health Insurance Policy is a welcome solution. What is left is to make it easier for every child of school-going age to register for health insurance. Presently children can only register together with their parents. If a parent cannot afford it, their child is also by extension not registered. Health cannot be divorced from education. These are the only two means by which every citizen can have a direct share of the national cake. Health and Education are indeed fundamental rights that every state owes its citizens.

I am looking forward to the day when we as a nation would stop expending resources on what benefits only a small group of people and concentrate on issues such as how best to invest in our young people's health and educational needs. When that day comes, we can heave a great sigh of relief and look forward to a well formed adult cohort.

Credit: Paul A. Agbodza [[email protected]]