Basic Education Ministry Enforce Valentine’s Gifts Ban in Schools

The Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education (MBSSE) has reaffirmed its ban on valentine’s gifts in front of school gates and around the school’s perimeter fences in the country.

The Director of School Quality Assurance, Management and Resources (SQAMR) Madam Frances Kamara said this activity has the potential of breaching the peace and tranquillity within the school, adding that MBSSE believes that it also sends out the wrong signal, especially as most of the pupils largely misconstrue the whole essence of the celebration.

She said the Ministry is very mindful of the potential threat to the pupils’ protection obligations in school environment.

“Cognizant of the fact that local Councils regulate street trading within their municipality and cities, I am directed to humbly request that you cause these traders to desist from trading around our schools, particularly in Valentine’s merchandise. Our schools must remain the safest spaces in society,” she said.

She said the government have deployed 177 Quality Assurance Officers to all sixteen districts of the country and has been visiting schools to ensure that classes are going on in earnest while also ensuring compliance with the Ministry’s directives.