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The Deputy Chairman of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) in charge of Programmes, Mr Samuel Asare Akuamoah, has asked Ghanaians not to consider the Constitution as a sacred document only meant for the use of lawyers, courts, politicians and academia.

“The Constitution is a national document which must be studied and applied by all to ensure respect for one another’s rights and responsibilities,” he said.

He has, therefore, charged students in senior high schools (SHS) and tertiary institutions to lead the way in demystifying the aura surrounding the Constitution to pave the way for all Ghanaians to study the document.

Mr Akuamoah was speaking to the Daily Graphic when the Brong Ahafo Region took its turn in the commission’s Inter-School E-Quiz Competition on the Constitution at the Odomaseman Senior High School (SHS) at Odomase in the Sunyani West District yesterday.

Ten schools, namely Odomaseman SHS; Akumfi Ameyaw SHS, Aworowa SHS; Techiman SHS; Berekum SHS; Presbyterian SHS, Bechem SHS; Wenchi Methodist SHS; Notre Dame Girls’ SHS, Fiapre SHS; Seiwaa Kese Girls’ SHS, Duayaw-Nkwanta SHS; Sunyani SHS and Twene Amanfo Secondary/Technical High School, Sunyani, took part in the competition.

Demystify Constitution

Mr Akuamoah said it was the aim of the NCCE to whip up the interest of Ghanaians, particularly the youth, to study the Constitution through the organisation of the inter-school quizzes in both the second cycle and tertiary educational institutions.

“We want to bring the Constitution to the doorstep of the people so that they will be able to keep abreast of its provisions,” he said.

He explained that the organisation of the quizzes with the use of modern technology provided by the European Union (EU) had ignited the interest of students in the study of the Constitution.

“It is only through the deep knowledge about the tenets of the Constitution that will enable our people to know their rights and responsibilities,” he said, adding that: “Ghana will be worse off if its citizens know little or nothing about its Constitution.”

Mr Akuamoah said even though ignorance of the country’s laws should not be an excuse for any citizen to break a law, knowledge of the laws of the land by the people was a sure way to promote peaceful coexistence.

Integrity

Addressing the students earlier, Mr Akuamoah charged them to be responsible students by abiding by the rules governing their various schools.

He urged the students to incorporate integrity into their daily lives since without it, they would grow up to be irresponsible adults.

“Integrity is doing what is right and doing it even when nobody is watching you,” he said, explaining that: “People who litter about when nobody is watching them are not men of integrity.”

Mr Akuamoah reminded Ghanaians that it was only by respecting the provisions in the Constitution, bye-laws of the various local governments and the values of the society that we could halt the upsurge of indiscipline in the country.

The Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Director of the NCCE, Mr Issaka Zitor, was grateful to the EU for supporting the commission in its efforts to whip up the interest of Ghanaians in the study of the Constitution.