Sunyani: Mr. Ranford Antwi, the Chief Executive Officer of the Sunyani-based Suncity Group of Companies, has cautioned technical education students against the use of illicit drugs and alcoholism. He emphasized that substance abuse and alcoholism could endanger their health and have serious influences that might drive students and the youth into acts of lawlessness, potentially truncating their education and ruining their future.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mr. Antwi, who also contested the Sunyani East Constituency parliamentary elections as an independent candidate in the Election 2024, issued the caution while addressing students of the Sunyani Methodist Technical Institute at a leavers exit conference. The management of the school organized the conference for its final year students on the theme: 'Beyond the classroom: Ready for the world'.
Mr. Antwi expressed concern about the growing youth abuse of 'Tramadol', an illicit drug, as well as Indian hemp smoking, peddling, and alcoholism, which he said are driving many students towards acts of lawlessness and indiscipline. He called for a collective approach to address promiscuity and the increasing moral decadence among Senior High and Technical School students in the country, urging female students to avoid unhealthy and pre-marital sexual practices.
He advised students that their future was in their own hands, encouraging them to focus on their studies and remain diligent to justify the investments their families are making in them. Mr. Antwi highlighted education as the surest legacy their families could leave them and advised them to avoid bad peers who might lure them into unhealthy behaviors that would be difficult to overcome.
Mr. Antwi reassured the students that with determination and hard work, they could acquire the necessary employable skills and secure jobs, despite the pressing challenges faced by the institute. Madam Evelyn Konadu Boateng, the Principal of the Institute, urged the students to remain disciplined, respect their teachers, and be committed to their studies. She warned that the school authority would not tolerate any form of indiscipline and acts of lawlessness, cautioning that students who misbehaved would be sanctioned accordingly.