The Paramount Chief of Nanton, Nanton Naa Mahamadu V has advised students, especially girls to avoid taking drugs and other substances as stimulants for their studies.
The revered traditional ruler who is also an educationist said the use of drugs among students most especially young girls was worrying as it was destroying the future of young people.
Nanton Naa Mahamadu V was speaking to students of Tamale Girls Senior High School when he presented mathematical sets and pens to final year students of the school to help them prepare adequately for the upcoming West Africa Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE).
In all, 674 students received a mathematical set and a pen each from the former Council of State member.
Drug usage among young people in the Northern Region has been on the rise, with the King of Dagbon commissioning a Taskforce to crackdown on Drug Peddlers in the region, especially in the Tamale Metropolis where the usage is said to be on the high.
Naa Mahamadu V advised the students to do away with drugs if they wanted to perform well in the WASSCE, dismissing assertions that such drugs could aid students to have sharp brains to be able to grab everything they study.
He also urged the students to eschew all forms of examination malpractice and cheating.
The Paramount Chief of Nanton said as the only girls module Senior High School in the region, it was important for the students to maintain the high standards the school is noted for by doing their best to pass their examinations.
The Head Teacher of the School, Madam Asha Asumah commended the Chief for the donation, saying that it has come at the most appropriate time.
She said even though the WASSCE had commenced with the practical exams, many of the students did not have the mathematical sets and other materials because they simply could not afford it.
The Headmistress of the school appealed to the government and other benevolent individuals and organisations to help alleviate the water crisis in the school.
Ms Aisha said the lack of potable water in the school was destructing academic activities, hence the need for an intervention to solve the problem.
Bashiru Aisha Tungteya, the Senior Prefect of the school who was of high praises for the Chief said the donation will go a long way to help the final year students to prepare for their examinations.
She appealed to Ghanaians to support the school address the plethora of challenges confronting it.