The Ministry of Education (MoE) has launched a nationwide Behavioural Change Communication (BCC) campaign aimed at tackling drug abuse among students in pre-tertiary schools across the country.
The initiative, undertaken in collaboration with the Ministry of the Interior and the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC), seeks to protect learners from the harmful effects of substance abuse while promoting safe, healthy and disciplined learning environments.
As part of the campaign, the Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, has directed the Director-General of the Ghana Education Service (GES) to introduce a daily anti-drug awareness message in all pre-tertiary schools with immediate effect.
Under the directive, students will recite the campaign message during morning assembly immediately after the National Anthem and before the National Pledge.
The approved call-and-response message reads:
Leader: “Don’t start it as a greeting.”
Students: “To live in regret.”
According to the Ministry, the daily recitation forms a key component of a broader behavioural change strategy designed to discourage drug use among schoolchildren, strengthen preventive education and encourage responsible decision-making.
The campaign will also be supported by sustained public education, school-based sensitisation programmes and stronger collaboration among educational institutions, parents, community leaders and other stakeholders.
The Ministry reaffirmed its commitment to safeguarding the wellbeing and future of every learner and appealed to all stakeholders to support the national effort to eliminate drug abuse in schools.
