The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) is to streamline its programmes to fuse in Ghanaian norms and values teaching to ensure children and the youth have a sense of belonging to the country.
It explained that its programmes, which included constitutional week, citizenship week, democracy lecture, social auditing, civic education clubs and dialogue series, would be anchored in values and norms.
The Commission said handling indiscipline, corruption and others pertinent issues depended on norms and values inculcated into younger ones.
Josephine Nkrumah, chairperson of the NCCE, made this known at an NCCE/National Security project on national cohesion and inclusive participation governance for members of the Ashaiman Municipal Inter Party Dialogue Committee (IPDC) which was on the theme: ‘Empowering Ghanaians to stand for national cohesion and inclusive participation’.
Answering a question on the increasing indiscipline among students some of whom vandalise school properties and threaten leadership, she noted that what was happening among the youth was frightening and theyhad lost their sense of direction on issues.
“The youth have become like an untrained army that is waiting to be unleashed on the citizenry and called on other stakeholders to instil right values and norms into children and the youth, failure on the part of stakeholders to guide them now, they will grow thinking they can use violence and dubious ways to get whatever they decideto have without considering consequences.
“Losing values and norms among the youth meant losing the future and stakeholders must be intentional in catering for children both their biological ones and others they get into contact with, go back to the basic to re-engineer our senses, recognisethat our security is tied to values and norms the children have,” Ms Nkrumah advised
Superintendent Osman Alhassan, Ashaiman District Police Commander, speaking on the Public Order Act and Community Surveillance, said public event organisers such as demonstrations must inform police on their intentions in accordance with the law, consider routes, and any possible security threat to the public and demonstrators.
Agyeiwaa Badu, Ashaiman Municipal Directorof NCCE, said the Inter Party Dialogue Committee was formed by the Commission as a result of tension that arose in the 2008 elections, and deemed it necessary to form a committee similar to that of the Inter Party Advisory Committee to resolve issues that might trigger peace, unity, security, stability, cohesion and inclusiveness. -GNA
