Include distribution of sanitary pads as component of Free SHS – Students to Gov’t

Female students from some Senior High Schools have called on Government to include distribution of free sanitary pads as key component of the Free SHS Policy.

According to them, sanitary pads were expensive and most of their parents cannot afford them every month.

Due to this, they are sometimes forced to stay home during the time of the month.

The students made this known at the 2024 Day of the African Child held in Accra on Thursday, June 20,2024.

The Day of the African Child (DAC) is commemorated every year on 16th June to honour the students of Soweto, South Africa, who protested against segregation and ill-treatment against black children in schools.

Students from Junior High and Senior High Schools including those who are disabled from across the country were present to commemorate the day with stakeholders at the event.

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During a panel discussion, they raised some challenges being faced at their various schools including lack of ICT lab, lack of science lab, sanitary pads amongst others and pleaded with the government to intervene.

They called on government to collaborate with international NGOs to help address their challenges.

Aside from that, the students also encouraged government and school authorities to involve them while making policies or taking decisions concerning schools.

That, they said, will enable them to make inputs in ways to address the challenges they face while in school.

Azuma Princess from Kpokede Community School called on the government to include the distribution of sanitary pads in the Free SHS Programme.

According to her, most of their parents do not have jobs that will fetch them enough and therefore using a sanitary pad had become difficult for most of the girl students.

She also called on the government to build an ICT lab for their and renovate their old buildings to aid quality education.

For her part, Millicent Afram from Kyekyewere Methodist Basic School in the Central Region also pointed that at her area, female students do not attend school on Tuesdays due to the perception that if they cross the river on that day, it may affect them in future.

She said when the female students are in the time of the month, they mostly do not go to school because they have little or limited access to sanitary pads and as well have minimum access to proper sanitation.

She also complained that there were times that they were stopped from attending schools when it rains because their parents fear the river will consume them while at other times, they are either denied access to their schools when the canoe riders do not show up for work.

She therefore called on government to construct a bridge so that they can cross over to school without using the canoe.

Victoria Adar who is deaf and a student at School for the Deaf also mentioned that her school building was old, especially the rails and therefore needs renovation.

She also mentioned the treatment meted out to her due to her disability, ring the public to treat persons with disability with the same respect as given to those without disabilities.

Meanwhile, the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dakoa Newman who heard their plights assured them that their concerns had been taken and would ensure that the government addresses them respectively.

She also urged students and family members to stop stigmatising persons with disability and rather show them love, adding that disability could happen to anyone at any point of their lives.

Ghana| Atinkaonline.com| Porcia Oforiwaa Ofori