The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rt Rev Prof Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante has called on government to as a matter of urgency allow Churches restore and instill discipline in mission schools across the country.
He said this will help arrest declining moral standards in schools.
The Moderator made the statement at the opening of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) 5th Annual Consultation Meeting on Education on Wednesday 26th July 2023 in Koforidua in the Eastern Region.
This year’s consultation was on the theme “Reflecting the light of Christ in PCG Institutions- The Role of Educational Administrators”.
The Moderator said to ensure that products of the country’s schools become useful and valuable citizens of our nation, the virtues of hard work and discipline must be instilled in Ghana’s school-going children.
“The tradition of discipline, hard work, and integrity that characterize the churches are needed in our country,” he said. It is believed that the government’s withdrawal of management of mission schools from the original owners is the cause of the high rate of indiscipline and declining moral standards in schools.
As part of its missionary objectives during the colonial era, churches established many of Ghana’s senior secondary schools, several of which are now branded elite schools.
But a 1984 take-over of their schools, placed its administration and management under government control. Ghana has 872 second cycle schools of which 66% are government controlled. Churches control a huge majority of the 575 schools now under the state’s management.
Calls for a return of the mission schools back to their original owners have been growing as churches complain about the negative effects of secularization on school children.
Churches and other religious institutions have called on the government to cede control of mission schools to the church to address the deteriorating state of discipline and values in these schools.
Speaking at the same function, the Deputy Minister of Education, Hon. Gifty Twum Ampofo attributed the breakdown of moral standards in schools to globalization, and digitalization. She said the modern situation on discipline and time consciousness in Ghana is not the best. This, however, has been influenced by modern technological advances and globalization that have made life easier to bear for example, we do not have to walk long distances on foot like our forefathers used to do in the colonial era and uncertain as to when we are going to arrive at the destination anymore.
The Eastern Regional Minister, Hon. Seth Kwame Acheampong on his part lauded the Presbyterian Church of Ghana for playing major roles in various sectors of the economy including education, health, agriculture, and sanitation to help develop the country.
He said the PCG’s educational facilities spread across the country have complemented the government’s efforts at improving the standards of education in the country.”
The Omanhene of the New Juaben Traditional Area, Daasebre Kwaku Boateng III who chaired the function pledged that his outfit was well-prepared to partner with the Church to bring back the proverbial Presbyterian discipline.
The meeting was to equip and help the heads to understand the current trends in the educational system to improve the quality of education in schools. The Presbyterian Church of Ghana currently has close to 2,500 basic schools, 34 Senior High and Vocational Schools, 5 Colleges of Education, 2 Universities, 5 Midwifery schools, 55 Health Institutions, and 3 Social Services.
The function brought together high-profile personalities such as the clerk of the General Assembly of the PCG, Rev Dr. Godwin Nii Noi Odonlor, Mrs. Ivy Owusu, Eastern Regional Director of Education, Presbytery Chairpersons of the Church, Heads of all tertiary institutions and senior high schools of the PCG and others.
Source:Mybrytfmonline.com/Obed Ansah
