Ejisu, (Ash), Sept. 26, GNA - School children in Ejisu are said to have resorted to gambling at the expense of their studies.

Mr Yakubu Ahmed, Assemblyman for Ejisu Zongo, said the increase in gambling among school children had not only led to truancy and smoking among the pupils but also resulted in stealing.

He was addressing the Parent/Teacher Association (PTA) of the District Assembly Experimental Junior High School at Ejisu.

Mr Ahmed said most of the pupils in the town used rubber bands and video games to play raffle in exchange of money during class hours. Mr Ahmed, who showed some of the rubber bands he had collected from the pupils to the parents and teachers at the meeting, cautioned video operators in the town to desist from encouraging the pupils to use their facilities for such acts, especially during school hours.

He appealed to the Ejisu-Juaben District Assembly to pass a byelaw to ban the activities of such video operators in the district.

Mr Ahmed Yahya, the School Management Committee Chairman, advised the parents against engaging their children in hazardous work, saying child labour in any form was harmful to the health and education of the child. Mrs Gladys Asante Adi, Headmistress of the school, urged parents to visit their children at school regularly.