‘Stay and learn; don’t go and do galamsey’ – Richard Jakpa urges male students in Daffiama-Bussie-Issa

The Director of Operations at the National Security Secretariat, Richard Jakpa, has raised concern over the growing number of male students abandoning school in the Daffiama-Bussie-Issa District to engage in illegal small-scale mining, popularly known as galamsey.

He said the trend was contributing to a situation where girls now outnumber boys in some classrooms across the district, as many young males leave their communities for mining activities in the southern parts of the country.

Mr Jakpa raised the concern while donating mathematical sets to Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates in the district, urging the boys to remain in school and resist the temptation to engage in illegal mining.

"Girls, you are more than the boys. Am I right? There's a reason. A lot of the young boys are running to go and do galamsey. Instead of staying in the town here and learning with you, the girls, they are running to go and do galamsey," he said.

He warned that the trend could have consequences for the future of the young girls, who might find it difficult to find educated male partners if their male counterparts continued to abandon school.

"If you, the young ladies, don't encourage your young boys to stay and learn, you will all grow. You become good and well educated, but you don't get good husbands to marry. Because all your husbands will be galamsey people," he said.

Mr Jakpa urged the boys to prioritise their education, assuring them of continued support to provide the resources they need to learn.

"Stay and learn. Don't go and do galamsey in the south. Stay here and learn. We will support you. We will keep visiting you all the time. We will be providing what you need to aid you in learning," he said.

He also cited government investments in education, including the construction of more schools and plans to establish a Science Senior High School in the district, as part of efforts to improve access to education.

"You will finish here; you pass well, right in your district, you have a qualified and very good SHS to attend," he added.

The donation covered BECE candidates in all five circuits of the district: Daffiama, Bussie, Fian, Kojokperi and Issa.

The students expressed gratitude for the mathematical sets and pledged to use them effectively in preparing for their examinations.

"Thank you very much. We are very grateful for the mathematical sets that you gave to us. We will make sure that we make very good use of them and pass our BECE," one student said.

Another student said: "We promise that we will learn very well so that we can pass our BECE."

A third student also prayed for God's blessings and protection for Mr Jakpa.

The students, however, appealed for support to repair broken doors at their school, explaining that community members sometimes remove their chairs when school is not in session.

"We would like to plead with you to help us fix our school doors because they are broken. Community people take out our chairs when school is not in session," a student said.

In response, Mr Jakpa assured the students that arrangements would be made to repair the doors and broken chairs before his next visit.

"Before I come back, I will, through your Director of Education, send someone to come and look at the doors that you requested, and the doors will be fixed before I visit you the next time I come. And then the chairs that are broken too, we will get them fixed," he said.

Meanwhile, the District Chief Executive for Daffiama-Bussie-Issa, James Wor, cautioned teachers against engaging in inappropriate relationships with students, urging them to uphold professional conduct.

"Please stay away. I mean it. Throughout my educational life as a teacher, I have never looked at a student twice," he said.

He warned that teachers who engage in sexual relationships with students risk losing the respect of the public and exposing themselves to ridicule.

"The moment you have intercourse with a student, you become very naked, and they go and discuss you. And some of you now tend to punish them. It escalates the story," he said.

"Please, if you want students to respect you, respect yourself," he added.

The District Director of Education, Pognaa Sadia Gbollu, said the district was intensifying efforts to sensitise parents on the importance of keeping their children in school.

She, however, acknowledged that some parents struggled to control their children's movements, making it difficult to prevent them from leaving school.

"We are trying hard to sensitise the parents to allow the children to stay home. Some of the kids, they say that the parents don't have control. Before they realise, they are gone," she said.

She added that the provision of learning materials and furniture could serve as an incentive for children to remain in school.

"Some of these learning materials that you are bringing, the furniture that you are bringing, is enough motivation to let them stay at home," she said.

Mr Jakpa urged the students to grow together, pursue their education and contribute meaningfully to the development of their communities.