The Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) has intensified efforts to involve young people in the fight against corruption, engaging basic school pupils in Cape Coast on the importance of integrity, honesty and accountability.
The engagement formed part of activities to mark the 2026 African Anti-Corruption Day, under the theme: “Scaling up the promotion of integrity and anti-corruption actions across Africa.”
The Coalition said empowering children with ethical values was critical to building a future generation that would reject corrupt practices and promote transparency in society.
Mrs Beauty Emefa Narteh, Executive Secretary of GACC, in a statement read on her behalf, said corruption could only be effectively tackled when individuals, institutions and communities accepted it as a shared responsibility.
She said every act of honesty and every decision to uphold ethical standards contributed to creating a fairer and more prosperous Ghana.
The statement was delivered by Ms Pauline Fleischer, a member of the Cape Coast Local Accountability Network (LANet), during separate sensitisation programmes at St Nicholas Basic School and St Monica’s Girls’ School.
The sessions allowed pupils to share their experiences and discuss how corruption could affect their education, opportunities and future aspirations.
Through the engagements, LANet members encouraged pupils to see themselves as active participants in promoting accountability within their schools and communities.
Mrs Narteh noted that the initiative formed part of GACC’s broader youth-focused anti-corruption campaign, which had reached thousands of students across the country.
She said in the previous year, GACC’s Local Accountability Networks engaged more than 23,000 students through school sensitisation programmes in 40 districts across all 16 regions of Ghana.
She added that the Coalition was expanding its outreach to 85 districts nationwide to provide more young people with the knowledge and confidence to become advocates for integrity.
“Building societies based on honesty, transparency and accountability requires collective commitment from governments, institutions, communities and especially young people,” she said.
Mrs Narteh urged pupils to reject bribery, cheating and dishonest shortcuts, stressing that reporting wrongdoing to trusted authorities was an important step towards protecting their schools and communities.
She encouraged students to avoid accepting gifts, favours or unfair advantages that could compromise their values.
Ms Scholastica Caroline Mensah, a LANet member, also cautioned pupils against engaging in acts of corruption within the school environment.
She identified behaviours such as paying for better grades, exchanging favours for privileges, tampering with attendance records, assisting absent students to sign in and selling examination materials as forms of corruption.
Ms Mensah called on teachers, parents and school authorities to work together to protect academic integrity and promote fairness in schools.
She urged pupils to practise honesty by completing their own assignments, respecting rules and speaking up against unfair practices.
According to her, developing integrity among students would help create responsible citizens who value merit and accountability over personal connections.
The GACC said its continued investment in youth education remained a key part of its strategy to build a corruption-free Ghana where transparency and ethical leadership became deeply rooted in society.
