Ghana Game Centers Could Face Government Regulation

ModernGhana.com reports that the government of Sunyani, a municipality in the African nation of Ghana, may pass strict laws on video game centers. Last week the 15-member Brong-Ahafo Regional multi-sectoral Child Right Committee expressed its concerns about an uptick in "commercial video game centres in the Sunyani Municipality." The committee appealed the Municipal Assembly to work with other institutions within the government to enact some sort of by-laws governing these businesses.

The concerns were raised at a meeting last Wednesday in Sunyani to discuss "issues that affected the proper upbringing and development of children in the region." The committee is made up of representatives from various government agencies including the Municipal and District Assemblies, Department of Social Welfare, National Commission on Civic Education, Commission of Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Ghana Education Service, Information Service Department and the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit of the Police.

Committee members claim that the growth of video game centers in the region is keeping kids away from school, and have contributed to an uptick in dropout rates and generally poor academic performance in the "Basic Education Certificate Examination."

Hammond Oppong Kwarteng, Regional Director of the Department of Children, has advised teachers and parents to monitor their children's activity and their movement to ensure that when they leave home they are going straight to school. Kwarteng added that the proper upbringing of children was society's responsibility and asked the public to lend their support in any way they could.

Source: Modern Ghana by way of Pete G. Image Source: CIA world Fact Book