General News of Sunday, 28 May 2006

Source: Public Agenda

?13 million pocket money for student

The Headmaster of Aggrey Memorial Secondary School Mr. Appiah Dankwah has revealed that a particular student in his school (name withheld) at one point brought 13 million cedis as pocket money to school.

He made this known in an interview with Yaw Opoku Agyepong, the host of GBC Radio Central?s morning show in Cape Coast. Mr Dankwah was commenting on the increasing cases of indiscipline among students in senior secondary schools, especially in the Central Region.

He said some parents are contributing to the moral decadence of the students by giving them huge sums of money to take to school, when in fact the students don?t need that much. He said as a result, many students from rich homes have become uncontrollable and even to the point of misbehaving toward their teachers.

Mr Dankwah also said the huge sums of money students send to school also contribute to stealing among students and appealed to parents to desist from showering money on their wards during school period.

Mr. Dankwah advised that if nothing was done about it, it would corrupt the students in the future. When the headmaster of Mfamtsipim Secondary School Mr Cosby Eshun was contacted to comment on indiscipline in schools, he buttressed Mr. Danquah?s point and explained that the primary aim of sending children to school is not to flaunt their wealth around, but to study. He explained that many parents do not know why they send their children to school, if they knew; they would not be ?spoiling? their children with money.

Some parents even send cooked food through EMS to their children, all in the name showing their love, but after eating the food the children fall sick. He disclosed that some of the students carrying loads of money to school are those who parents are living outside the country. According to Mr. Eshun some of these parents dump their children at the school and leave the country, thus giving them the freedom to engage in social vices. He said some irresponsible parents sometimes call him on phone and insult him when he disciplines their wards.