Minister responsible for Interior, Honourable Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, has revealed a number of measures the government and its agencies will put in place to check the rate of drowning incidents involving students and others in rural areas.

This follows the recent boat incident along the Black Volta Basin that claimed the lives of seven students of Lawra Senior High School (SHS) on June 14.

Appearing before Parliament on Wednesday, July 2, the sector minister noted that there will be regular sensitisation of canoe owners or operators and residents along the Black Volta Basin, and sensitization of students and identifiable bodies on maritime safety.

Also, the Ghana Maritime Authority will provide life jackets to canoe operators along the river, conduct regular monitoring of canoe operators to ensure safety on the river, and ensure all canoes are regularly maintained.

In direct relation to the recent tragic incident, psychosocial assistance will be provided to students of the Lawra Senior High School, especially to the three survivors.

These measures will be put in place to avert future drowning of residents at Lawra Dikpe-Road in the Upper West Region.

All members of the school’s cadet group, had decided to jog along the riverside at Dikpe on Saturday morning, June 14.

There were a total of 16 of them, 11 girls and 5 boys. Ten of the 16 students, including 8 girls and 2 boys, chose to board a canoe managed by a young boy in an attempt to cross the Black Volta River at Dikpe.

Their commander jumped into the river to save the lives of his comrades and was able to rescue three students.

Tragically, seven of them perished in the water. The seven deceased students came from various parts of the Upper West Region: two from Lawra Constituency, two from Daffiama/Bussie/Issah, one from Nandom, one from Wa, and one from Nadowli/Kaleo.

The bodies of the deceased have been released to their respective families for burial.

Meanwhile, Member of Parliament for Lawra, Hon. Bide A. Ziedieng, has called for public education on security measures that must be ensured during transportation by water bodies.

This is not the first time lives, especially those of students, have been lost to drowning on the Black Volta.

In 2023, some eight students drowned in the Volta Lake in the Sene East District on their way to school.

This prompted calls on the government to provide life jackets to pupils and staff in island communities who commute by water.

Eduwatch Africa called on the Ghana Education Service and other relevant stakeholders to roll out measures to avert such disasters in the future.

"In the immediate term, we urge the Ghana Education Service (GES) to facilitate the availability of life jackets to all school children and staff who sail to and from school, not only in the Sene East district, but all other 'island and settler communities' where children and staff commute by water transport to school.

The GES should in collaboration with the relevant state agencies, facilitate health and safety orientation sessions for all its pupils and staff in island communities", portions of the group's statement read.

The Ghana Education Service (GES) donated 100 life jackets and learning materials to the Atigagorme and Wayokope communities in the Sene East District.

Then Director-General of GES, Dr Eric Nkansah, said the donation was an interim safety and security measure for school children.