GNA – Teachers and Ghana Education Service (GES) technical teams in some Junior High Schools (JHS) in three districts in the Northern and North East Regions have undergone training on how to use the alternative manual to facilitate lessons on reproductive health education.
The manual, developed by Norsaac, a civil society organisation, has practical tools, which the teachers can use as icebreakers during lessons to discuss issues related to reproductive health education with students as part of efforts to integrate such lessons amongst them.
A total of 65 teachers and GES technical teams from the three districts including Gushegu, Zabzugu, and Mamprugu-Moagduri located in the two regions Northern participated in the training, which was held in their various districts.
The training formed part of the Reproductive Health Education project being implemented by Norsaac with support from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation to deliver quality reproductive health education to students at the JHS level.
This is to help reduce teenage pregnancy, sexual and gender-based violence, and bullying in schools.
Mr Sumaila Mohammed, Project Manager in-charge of Reproductive Health Education project at norsaac, who spoke during the training in the three districts, said “Teachers can introduce the manual to discuss issues such as personal hygiene, menstruation, amongst others and have the views of students and also correct any misconceptions they may have.”
Following the training, participants came out with school-specific action plans, which included reaching out to their colleague teachers as well as training them on how to use the manual in their schools so that all the teachers in the schools would be able to facilitate lessons using it (manual).
As part of the action plans, participants also agreed that they would brief their colleagues and orientate them on how to use the manual, call for parent-teacher association meetings to inform parents about the reproductive health education they would be integrating amongst their wards to ensure that they were not be surprised when they (children) talked about such issues, and also institute disciplinary committees to ensure that students were not bullied.
The training workshop developed Manuel for use by teachers during school hours.
Mr Mohammed said “The issues surrounding bullying, sexual and gender-based violence, and teenage pregnancy are a worry to all of us. It is affecting education across the board. All teachers should embrace the project and support as much as they can to integrate the lessons amongst their students to disabuse those misconceptions surrounding their reproductive health education.”
The participants resolved to use the manual during lessons to integrate issues of reproductive health education amongst their students to ensure they become responsible.
GNA