Students cautioned against violence

The National Chairman of the International Prisons Chaplains Association (IPCA), Ghana, Rev. Steve Mensah, has urged students to avoid violent activities in schools, advising them to follow school regulations and engage authorities constructively when they have concerns.

Speaking at the Presbyterian Senior High School, Osu, as part of IPCA’s crime talk initiative, Rev. Mensah emphasized that many young people end up in prison due to preventable mistakes.

IPCA, an association of ordained ministers and Christian professionals with consultative status at the United Nations since 2014, has already visited 12 senior high schools, sensitizing students on crime prevention, drug abuse, and violence.

The initiative will soon expand to cover schools in the Central and Eastern regions.

Rev. Mensah cited a recent case of a student stabbing another as an example of the consequences of indiscipline, stressing that students must be mindful of items they carry to school.

Retired educationist Dr. Angela Tena Mensah highlighted the need for continued guidance, warning against influences such as occultism, demonstrations, and peer pressure leading to crimes like rape.

Other speakers, including Evangelist Bernard Nyarko and Rev. Dr. Christina Otu Lartey, urged students to stay away from drugs and criminal behavior, while DSP Issha Amidu of the Ghana Prisons Service cautioned them against activities that could land them in jail.

The Executive Director of Dynamic Works Foundation, Gloria Cann, reiterated that IPCA’s mission is to spread the Gospel while steering the youth toward responsible living.