As part of efforts to nab corruption in the bud, the National Commission for Civic Education, (NCCE) has directed its sensitisation towards children so as to change their perception about the canker before they grow up as adults.
These efforts have led to the establishment of Civic Education Clubs, (CECs) in two schools in the Upper West Region as well as quiz competitions between the various basic schools on corruption.
The Regional Director for the NCCE, Ms Patience Sally Kumah, who made this known at a quiz competition at Wa, between the clubs of Sing M/A Primary in the Wa municipality and the Fielmuo Basic School in the Sissala West District on Saturday, indicated that the establishment of the CECs was to instill the values of probity, transparency and accountability in the young ones to eschew acts of corruption.
“The young club members were engaged on the Anti-Corruption Training Manual developed purposely for re-orienting them and are also made to undertake quarterly quiz, debates and essay competitions to whip up their enthusiasm in the project,” she stated.
Ms Kumah explained that the exercises were part of a STAR-Ghana funded project dubbed, ‘Interfaith Shaping Hearts, Attitudes and Mindset to End (I-SHAME) Corruption in Ghana’ and was geared towards changing the attitudes and mindset of people to end the habitual acts of corruption.
“The National Catholic Bishops’ Conference in response to calls by the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAG), together with citizens and groups on the need for religious leaders to participate in the fight against corruption in Ghana as well as action call by the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan which identified faith groups as key stakeholders in its implementation, the NCCE and the National Catholic Secretariat of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference are implementing the I-SHAME Corruption in Ghana project,”she said.
Ms Kumah noted that the goal of the project was targeted at children in order to create a new generation of Ghanaians who had zero tolerance for corruption through civic education, noting, that “the NCCE sought to do a thorough reorientation of the perception of children at basic and senior high schools by creating awareness about the evils of corruption”.
She urged stakeholders to join in the campaign against corruption and also eschew acts of bribery and corruption.
The pupils who represented their respective schools for the quiz competition performed creditably such that the Fielmuo Basic School scored 44 points whereas the Sing M/A Primary School scored 35 points at the end of the competition. The participating schools received stationery from the NCCE as award, according to their performance in the competition.
FROM LYDIA DARLINGTON FORDJOUR, WA
