Ms Cynthia Anima Boadu, the Bono Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has advised students to take matters of security seriously to prevent violence in the country.
Ms Boadu stressed the need for students to be vigilant and report any suspicious activities of individuals or groups of people to the security agencies in time to stop distractions in society.
She gave the advice at a sensitisation and awareness campaign organised by the NCCE at separate programmes for Senior High Schools in the Sunyani West and Sunyani East Municipalities.
The campaigns were part of the NCCE’s Preventing and Containing Violent Extremism (PCVE) Action programme, supported by the European Union (EU) to raise awareness about the activities of extremists and their threats to national security.
Among the schools educated were the Notre Dame SHS, Sunyani SHS, Odumaseman SHS, Twene Amanfo SHS, SDA SHS, Social Welfare Technical Institute, and Sunyani Technical Institute.
The students were engaged t
hrough film screenings to increase their understanding of the dangers of violent extremism and its impact on the security and stability of the state.
Ms Boadu emphasised the importance of peaceful co-existence among students, regardless of their differences, while urging them to avoid marginalization, unhealthy debates, and online radicalization that could lead to violence.
She indicated five other Districts and Municipalities in the Region were undertaking the same educational programmes at Banda Adentro, Dormaa Central, Dormaa West, Jaman North, and Jaman South communities on preventing and containing violent extremism.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Conrad Bombayireh, in Charge of the Sunyani Police Hospital, explained that extremists use unlawful methods to achieve political, ideological and religious goals by targeting the youth who are vulnerable with promises of scholarships, money, and indoctrination.
He therefore urged students to stay vigilant and report any suspicious activities to th
e police.
ASP Conrad Bombayireh gave assurance that their identities would be protected, saying ‘security is a shared responsibility.’
Source: Ghana News Agency