Child neglect is on the increase in the Pru District in the Brong-Ahafo Region, especially Yeji, the district capital, Mr Faustinus Obrotey, the District Social Welfare Officer, has stated. He said as a result of parental neglect, over 50 per cent of schoolchildren in basic schools in Yeji had to engage in strenuous work to fend for themselves, but that affected their wellbeing and health. “Some of these children, the males, for instance have to fish in the deep waters of the Volta Lake, while some of the females resort to prostitution to fend for themselves,” he added. Mr Obrotey said the neglect of children by their parents, especially their fathers, had led to an increase in teenage pregnancy at Yeji and added that paternal supervision and control was also absent. He said the district had also recorded 75 cases of child neglect from 2010 to date, adding that child labour was also on the increase as a result of child neglect and the large family size. Mr Obrotey said the occurrence of children beginning lower primary education between the ages of 10 and 15 was rampant in the area and cited the case of a 15-year-old boy in class four. To address this issue, the Pru District Social Welfare Officer called for the establishment of kindergarten and lower primary schools in the various communities within Yeji and its environs to enable children to go to school early. He said because Yeji was predominantly a fishing community, children engaged in fishing at an early age at the expense of their education, since they claimed it was a tradition and source of livelihood. Mr Obrotey, therefore, suggested other alternative sources of livelihood for the fishermen during the lean season to enable parents to generate incomes to take care of their children. He also called for the teaching of reproductive health at the upper primary level to enable schoolchildren to know the dangers involved in premarital sex. Mr Obrotey stated that early or forced marriages of children, especially females, was also rife in the Moslem communities in Yeji and urged parents to desist from such acts which contravened the laws of the country and rights of their children. Source: Daily Graphic/Ghana