Address educational challenges to meet international standards — Bishop Afrifah-Agyekum

The Bishop of the Koforidua Diocese of the Catholic Church, Most Rev. Joseph Afrifah-Agyekum, has called for an educational system that will be more beneficial to the country and its cultural values, and at the same time, meet international standards.

In that respect, he outlined some of the shortfalls in the present educational system that should be addressed.

Shortfalls

Some of the shortfalls, he stated, were inadequate infrastructure, especially from the basic to senior high level, non-availability of textbooks and financial deficits in the management and administration of schools by the heads.

Most. Rev. Afrifah-Agyekum made the call at the Second National Catholic Education Forum held at Koforidua, the Eastern Regional capital.

The four-day event, the second in the series, was attended by all bishops of the Catholic Church in the country, managers of mission/unit schools, heads of primary, junior, secondary and tertiary educational institutions, as well as officials from the Christian Council of Ghana.

Challenges

The event, which was on the theme: "Catholic education for integral development; shaping a resilient and an inclusive Ghana”, was graced by the Director-General of Ghana Education Service (GES), Prof. David Kofi Anim, the Eastern Regional Minister, Rita Akosua Adjei Awatey, who discussed pertinent issues negatively affecting educational institutions with the view to address the challenges.

Participants in the Catholic Education Forum in Koforidua

According to Most. Rev. Afrifah-Agyekum, other shortfalls to be tackled included whether the duration of SHS should still be three years or extended to four, the abolition of the computer placement system, the repetition of non-performing students and non-negotiable 20 per cent admission of Catholic students into the SHS.

The bishop also suggested that channels of operations and administration of work in the schools should be from the district, municipal and metropolitan levels instead of direct institutions from the Director-General of GES or the office of the Minister of Education in Accra.

Most. Rev. Afrifah-Agyekum also stated that headmasters must be respected as colleagues in education delivery and reintroduce science resources centres in SHS, retool and enhance staffing of Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions, as well as laying emphasis on religious and moral education and training.

Humanise Education

In a keynote address, the Managing Director of the Tamale Ecclesiastical Province Partnership in Action (TEPPIA), an NGO in development, Dr Charles Abugre, told the gathering that as Catholic educators, they must first humanise education to make a process in which each person could develop his or her own deep-rooted attitudes and vocations within the community.

He explained that humanising education was putting the person at the centre of education in a framework of relationships that made up a living community where interdependency was a common destiny.

Human resource

Prof. Anim, who represented the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, said education had been the only avenue through which human beings were transformed into quality human resources to support the national aspirations of countries all over the world. 

Poor, less privileged

For his part, the Apostolic Nuncio to Ghana, Julian Kabore, urged Catholic schools to maintain their focus on providing education to all, particularly the poor and less privileged in society.

That commitment, he indicated, would better serve the underprivileged, which would resonate with the broader goals of the form, which included enhancing the accessibility and quality of education across the country.

Public debate

Welcoming the participants, the Eastern Regional Minister stressed the need for a public debate on education to keep pace with the rapid advancement of society.

That, she pointed out, would drive economic growth in the interest of the people.

Writer's email haruna.wunpini@graphic.com.gh