Who runs mission schools?
The Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) on February 4, 2014, issued a press statement which called for the return of mission schools to the churches.
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They were of the view that the return of the schools to the churches would help to restore the moral values and quality that was seen in the students who attended these schools.
The statement follows an open debate in Parliament on the need to return the mission schools to the churches, adding that the debate should be done objectively, devoid of any polarisation with the supreme interest of saving the fortunes of “our educational sector.”
The statement also claimed that since the state took over the management of mission schools in the country,’ we have been concerned with the continuous decline in the provision of quality education and moral formation among students.”
Also, it said the inability of the state to manage the schools effectively to fulfil the purpose of the church was very worrying.
The statement said most of the said schools were now in bad conditions with very little or no maintenance on them by the Ghana Education Service (GES).
Deputy Minister of Education
However, the Deputy Minister of Education, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said the government was willing to engage further on the matter but wanted the public’s view also to be heard.
He said even though the churches had not been relegated to the background in the country’s educational system, “We believe that the current system gives education in Ghana collective ownership. It is not as if the church has no role to play.”
Indiscipline
On the issue of indiscipline, Mr Ablakwa argued that aside the schools, some of the pastors had complained about the dressing of some members of their congregations to church on Sundays.
While lauding the contribution of the church towards the development of education in the country, Mr Ablakwa expressed the view that even though the Ministry of Education paid teachers’ salaries and bore the cost of infrastructure, the teachers had a hand in who headed such institutions through the schools governing council.
He raised the concern that other members of the public who did not belong to any of the missions would not be able to attend the schools, adding that there was an implication also for school fees because “if the churches take over, they may have to generate more money to pay the teachers, pay utility bills and all the bills that the government subsidises.”