Continue to make contributions to educational sector - Mission schools urged
The Volta Regional Director of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Mr Emmanuel Ketteku, has urged mission schools to continue to make meaningful contributions to build on the solid foundation they have made in the educational sector.
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He said the role of mission schools in education was more relevant now than ever, considering the role played by the management of such schools in inculcating values such as moral uprightness, honesty, integrity, submission to authority; virtues which are fast deteriorating in the society.
Mr Ketteku said that in a speech read on his behalf at a seminar for various stakeholders of schools of the Evangelical Presbyterian (EP) Church in Ho last Wednesday.
The theme for the seminar was; “Repositioning E.P Unit Schools for Quality Education.”
Mr Ketteku argued that mission schools continued to lay the foundation for the fear of God in the lives of children, and added that in as much as stakeholders had to provide a conducive environment to ensure that the right educational processes were “the fear of God factor” must not be left out.
He, therefore, urged stakeholders to resolve not only to support children with logistical requisites for quality education but to instil in them the fear of God to serve as the pivot around which values that positively impacted on society would revolve.
In an address, the Ho Municipal Director of the GES, Mrs Dora Humado, said working towards the attainment of quality education required collaborative efforts from all stakeholders and, most especially, a positive teacher attitude.
She said it would also require that the students were taught strategies to enhance their understanding of the things they were taught. “We should not just teach; we must give students time to study and make use of what we teach them.”
Mrs Humado expressed regret about the inability of some students to read and write, describing it as a major challenge facing students in the municipality and called for total support to organise reading and quiz competitions, to improve upon students’ literacy levels.
She also spoke of the low levels of discipline in some schools, and prayed that the church would take up the mantle and play its rightful role in addressing the situation.
“We must find our lost glory. All stakeholders must be brought on board to ensure high moral standards among students, as well as staff. This will invariably lead to an improvement in our academic pursuits,” she stated.
In a welcome address, the Regional Manager of E.P Unit schools, Mr Foster Agotse, said a monitoring and evaluation system had been introduced in response to the decision of the general council to undertake an assessment test every year.
He also said final year junior high school students would be made to write at least one external mock examination before writing the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) and that a few schools would be selected to serve as model schools.
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church has 546 schools in all parts of the country.