The Department of Capacity Development and Outreach (CDO) of the National Peace Council (NPC) has rounded up a series of engagement with15 Senior High/ Technical Schools with a call on students to be agents of peace.
The sensitisation exercise which engaged over 22,500 students encouraged students to reject violence and always adopt nonviolent ways of addressing grievances.
The NPC Governing Board Member, Sheikh Armiyawo Shaibu, speaking to Students at the Kanda Technical Institute in Accra, tasked students to be disciplined, respect authority, and be tolerant of each other.
Noting that "discipline is the bridge between your aim and your goals in life" Sheikh Shaibu urged the students to be careful about the choices they made in life to utilise the investment in their education.
The Director of Capacity Development and Outreach, NPC, Mrs. Janet Sarney-Kuma, who took them through the mandate of the National Peace Council, highlighted the values of peace, tolerance, discipline, respects, cooperation and non-violence to enhance peaceful coexistence at the school.
She entreated students to eschew violence, coexist peacefully with others while sharing some practical ways of addressing and managing conflicts among students and within the school’s space.
The Director explained the causes and effects of conflicts and how they impacted on our society, and encouraged students to be advocates and Ambassadors of Peace.
The Principal of the Institute, Madam Emily Akua Sam thanked the delegation from the NPC and for the messages they shared with them.
She noted the essence of promoting peace and expressed the hope of working with NPC to keep on sensitising students on peaceful coexistence.
Essence of School Campaign
The recent upsurge of incidents violence in schools caused harm, deaths and destruction of some school properties. To quell the rate of these incidents the National Peace Council rolled out School Violence Prevention and Sensitisation Programme across some selected Senior High Schools in Greater Accra Region.
The initiative geared towards promoting peaceful coexistence among students, largely equipped school authorities with tools to prevent and manage conflicts effectively. By addressing the root causes of violence and fostering a culture of tolerance, the NPC aims to make schools spaces safer and conducive for teaching and learning.
Schools Engaged
The CDO spearheaded the campaign engaged 15 Senior High/ Technical Schools, including St. Margaret Mary Senior High Technical, Kinbu Senior High Technical, Accra Technical Training Centre, Amasaman Senior High Technical, and Ordogonno Senior High Schools.
Others were St. John's Grammar School, Accra High, O’Rielly Senior High, Christian Methodist Senior High, and the West African Senior High as well as Ngleshie Amanfrom Senior High and Tema Senior High Schools.
