ASABA/Nigeria: Delta State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Mr. Patrick Ukah, has called on all stakeholders in the education sector to brace up to the challenge of curtailing incessant issues of anti-social behaviours among children.
Mr. Ukah, who made the call in Asaba during the commencement of a – week SMASHED programme, held simultaneously across the three Senatorial Districts in the state, said that the noted that the initiative was timely and apt.
The SMASHED programme is designed to educate teenagers, particularly students about the causes of underage drinking, the impact it has on their health, social, emotional and academic well-being and how to make informed safe choice as well seek help if need be.
The Education Commissioner stated that the exercise would be conducted in 46 public and private secondary schools in the state, even as he disclosed that 10,000 students would be targeted at the end of the programme.
He said that the negative behaviours of any child was a reflection in the increasing rate of criminality in the society, adding that the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education has considered it a big issue in the educational service delivery.
The Basic and Secondary Education Commissioner, who described the students as the end products of educational development of every society, stated that the ministry had established an Advocacy and Mentoring Unit in the Schools Department with the sole objective of inculcating a new mindset behaviour and value change among students.
Mr. Ukah , said that the ministry would partner with SMASHED programme in order to address the issue of underage drinking , especially among secondary school students
Recall that the SMASHED programme has been delivered in 25 countries around the world and since its inception had impacted over 500,000 young people.
