The President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Angel Carbonu, has revealed that a significant number of students in mining communities have been absent from school due to the severe impacts of illegal mining activities.
Speaking during an interview on Citi Breakfast Show on Tuesday, September 17, Mr. Carbonu indicated that, students’ absence in class is undermining teaching and learning
“Students are not even regular in schools in mining communities because they see that engaging in galamsey brings them immediate money than they can ever dream of as students and this is affecting teaching and learning in the schools”, he said.
The Nagrat boss stressed that the fight against illegal mining will be very difficult because the people involved in that menace have political backing.
“The beneficiaries of this illegal mining are the political persons who have the means to purchase machines to employ the youth to engage in the destruction of our environment,” he said.
Mr. Carbon further called on the government to ban all forms of small-scale mining, and the issuance of license
“When you find yourself in crisis, you take measures to stop the bleeding so you ban all small-scale mining activities nationwide. Call for the withdrawal of all machinery from the bushes, forests, and rural areas. Identify persons engaged in this illegality and punish them according to law. Stop immediately, the issuance of licenses for the prospecting of gold or whatever it is and also for mining in this country”, he added.
