Catholic Priest Bemoans Increasing Teenage Pregnancy Rates in Bongo District
His duties include counseling members of the congregation on how they could live a worthy life. Per the doctrine of his church, he is not supposed to marry but to remain single for the rest of his life. However, tender bride is a worry to him as well.
Reverend Father Ebenezer Atengdem, Assistant Parish Priest of Saint Anne’s Catholic Church in the Bongo district of Upper East region is worried about the increasing spate of teenage pregnancies in the district. He observed it is much worrying when teenage communicants of the church appear pregnant before him for confessing.
“As I go around, sometimes I feel very sad because you see a young girl maybe at the age of 14 or 15 pregnant and sadly maybe that girl is a communicant. She comes to you for confessing, you ask, are you married? No. Then who impregnated you? [And she respond] my boyfriend and this and that”
Reverend father Atengdem expressed his worry during a Town Hall Meeting of the Bongo district in the Upper East region.
Aside teenage pregnancy, teacher absenteeism is also a canker affecting academic performance of students in the district. New Patriotic Party’s women organizer of Bongo constituency, Justina Bukari who doubles as a government appointee in assembly laments a habit of some teachers who are found in drinking spots at a time they are expected to be in classrooms.
“There is a drinking spot just adjacent my house. Around 7am to 9am you see some teachers sitting there. When I Justina Bukari, I’m going to my farm, I farm by the road side. Sometimes I will on my farm and the teachers will be going to school at 10am or even 10:30am.”
Madam Bukari asked “If a teacher should go to school at 9am to 10:30am and the school child is already there, what do you expect the child to do?” She attributed the poor performance of students in the district to the attitude of some teachers because “the teachers themselves are not working”
By: Joshua Asaah|A1radioonline.com|Ghana
