Teacher-Mante (E/R), Dec 2, GNA - Children below the age of 18 years at Teacher-Mante near Suhum have been banned from attending wake keeping, the Reverend David Kwabena Mbiah, Chairman of the School Management Committee (SMC), has said.

He said the SMC would sanction parents of children who would be seen at wake keepings.

Mr Mbiah said it had been observed that children in the area did not study at home, which had resulted in poor examination results.

"Some of them engage in illicit sex, thus teenage pregnancy is rife in the area," he said at a Church service for children at the local Church of Pentecost.

He said over 90 people have died of HIV/AIDS in the town and called for efforts to step up the campaign to curb the disease.

"Pictures of HIV/AIDS victims should be pasted in canteens and drinking bars for people to know that the disease is real," Mr Mbiah said.