Ferdinand  | EducationGhana | May 24 | Excessive screen time quietly damaging Ghana’s children – Parents warned

Children across Ghana are spending four, five, six, or more hours a day on smartphones, tablets, and gaming devices, and the consequences are showing up in classrooms, in homes, and in mental health.

That was the stark warning delivered to parents on Saturday by Mr. Mawuko Dzamesi, Administrator of Sonrise Christian International School, Ho, at the institution’s 28th graduation ceremony. Presenting the school’s annual Management Report, Mr. Dzamesi described excessive screen use as “one of the most quietly damaging challenges facing our children today,” and called for a conscious, collective response from parents, schools, and the wider community.

Citing World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, the Administrator noted that children under two should have no screen time at all, and those aged three to four, no more than one hour daily. School-age children, he stressed, should use screens only to supplement, not replace, sleep, physical activity, and face-to-face interaction.

The evidence, Mr. Dzamesi said, is unambiguous. Excessive screen exposure is consistently linked to reduced attention spans, delayed language development in young children, poor sleep quality, and rising anxiety and depression among adolescents.

“In our classrooms, we see it,” he told the gathering, pointing to learners who struggle to focus for extended periods and find it harder to sustain effort on tasks that require patience.

Rejecting the temptation to blame parents, the Administrator described the problem as a systemic one, noting that digital platforms are deliberately engineered to maximise engagement. He offered three practical interventions: designating device-free times in the home, particularly meal times, study hours, and the hour before bed; making screen use purposeful through educational content and shared viewing; and replacing passive scrolling with sport, books, music, art, and conversation.

“We cannot equip our children for excellence if we allow their attention to be colonised by uncurated content,” Mr. Dzamesi concluded, tying the message to this year’s graduation theme, “Equipped for Excellence, Called to Serve.”

The intervention forms part of a tradition Mr. Dzamesi has built of using each graduation to spotlight a major issue affecting children — following his addresses on bullying in 2024 and examination malpractice in 2025.

Delivering the keynote address, Guest Speaker Mr. Simon Kofigah, an old student of the school, urged graduates to take their character as seriously as their grades. “Excellence is not the goal. Service is the goal. Excellence is just the tool,” he told the gathering, drawing on his own journey from Sonrise through Mawuli School and the University of Cape Coast.

The school’s Proprietress, Madam Janet Dzamesi, was commended for sustaining the vision of the late founder, Evangelist Samuel Komla Dzamesi, who established Sonrise 36 years ago. Alumni of the school now include teachers, nurses, doctors, lawyers, engineers, and finance professionals serving across Ghana and beyond.

The ceremony also marked a strong academic year for the school. Sonrise posted a 100 percent pass rate in the 2025 BECE, with several learners recording single-digit aggregates. The school’s quiz team reached the third round of the national Sharks Quiz Competition in Accra — its best-ever showing in the contest.

Beyond academics, the school reaffirmed its commitment to the spiritual and holistic formation of its learners. Weekly devotional sessions, a structured Friday extracurricular programme spanning sports, debates, cultural activities, health education, and career awareness, as well as engagements with the Ghana Police Service on personal safety, all form part of what the school describes as an education that prepares children not merely for examinations, but for life.

Management also formally launched a fundraising initiative to renovate the school’s library, appealing to parents, alumni, and well-wishers for support.

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