Patricia Abotsi, gender co-ordinator for the Korle Klottey Municipal Education Directorate, has revealed that sports betting and cyber fraud are hurting male students’ education and intellectual advancement in the municipality.
According to her, students miss class and indulge in sports betting.
Abotsi made the remarks during the International Day of the Boy Child commemoration in Accra.
The theme of the event was “Fostering the development of a generation free from the threat of cyber fraud and sports betting.”
Students were informed about the hazards and harmful consequences of sports betting and gambling on the boy child at the event.
Abotsi advocated for sports betting legislation in order to discourage schoolchildren from indulging in the practise.
She urged parents to work with school officials to combat the canker, emphasising that parents have a key responsibility to ensure that their children do not engage in cybercrime and betting.
According to the gender coordinator, issues impacting boys must be addressed in the same way that those affecting girls are.
“We have been celebrating the girl-child while frequently leaving the boy-child alone.” “As a result, most of these boys have found solace in gambling and betting,” she lamented.
Director of the Ghana Police Service’s community policing unit, Oscar Kofi Ameyenku, stated that the boy-child is fragile and prone to offending, therefore a need to steer him in the correct direction.
Underage gambling, according to Ameyenku, is illegal. He cautioned students not to fall victim to sports betting or cyber fraud since it may ruin their future.
The senior police officer stated that they will continue to educate students at community schools about the dangers of sports betting.
Every year on May 16, the International Day of the Boy Child is observed.
It was started in 2018 by Jerome Teelucksingh, a gender expert and the founder of International Men’s Day. The day is dedicated to boys and their well-being, as well as attaining full gender equality throughout the world.
