Ghana’s school feeding programme needs expansion in rural areas – Report
The Children’s Shadow Report on the Convention on the Rights of the Child has called on government to scale up the school feeding programme to all schools, especially those in rural areas.
It acknowledges and applauds the role of government in initiating and sustaining the school feeding programme but expressed concern that the programme did not cover every school.
The report which was launched in Accra on Friday noted that government and civil society organizations must engage more children and must recognize their contribution from primary to school high school levels.
It called for moderation of political debates on our media landscape to create a conductive atmosphere in the country for them to live in.
“Government must budget and encourage the District Assemblies, the National Commission on Civic Education, the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice to carry out intensive education on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child’s (UNCRC) and Ghana’s Children’s Act 560.
“And legislation on child trafficking, child labour and others passed over the years to inform them on the implications since most community members, teachers and parents do not know them, and so flout them all the time,” the report said.
With regards to children living with disability, the report said all efforts must be made to create awareness about disability, support and education for parents and community leaders to stop the bad treatment given to them.
The report said the process of giving children the opportunity to discuss and submit their views on the UNCRC and other laws and policies should be a continuous practice.
This Shadow Report which chronicles the state of child rights in Ghana is a culmination of extensive efforts of children whose voices were articulated on their behalf by Alexander Tangombu and Hadijah Zakariah who were sponsored by World Vision (WV) Ghana at the Universal Peer Review session in Geneva in August 2012.
Source: GNA