‘Let’s shape the future of our nation’
The immediate past Principal of the Ada College of Education, Mr David Cephas Ofotsu Sottie, has said any government’s vision of shaping the future of a nation can only be achieved if all stakeholders were proactive in moulding the character of pupils and individuals in their care.
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He said it was observed that holistic formal education could not only be delivered either by a government or an individual single-handedly, adding that it was a collective responsibility, hence the call for stakeholders to play their roles meaningfully for the country’s economic development and emancipation.
Mr Sottie noted that formal education was not just about transfer of knowledge or preparation of the mind of pupils for examination but also about developing people.
Mr Sottie, who is also the former Yilo Krobo, Ada East and Ada West district director of education, was speaking at the homecoming and Speech and Prize-giving Day of the Universal Scholars Academy at Goi, in the Ada West District in the Greater Accra Region on the theme: ‘’Formal Education, Responsibility of all Stakeholders.’’
Mr Sottie said the position of the government as a stakeholder in formal education was to provide policy direction for the education enterprise.
Role of the school in quality education
Touching on the role of the school in quality education delivery, the former director said teachers should make effective use of the full duration specified for each lesson on the timetable, and avoid unnecessary interruptions such as receiving drop-in visitors or picking phone calls.
“About 60 per cent of the time allotted for teaching and learning in the school each day is not used for academic work, but rather wasted on extraneous activities,’’ he said.
To the parents, he urged them to provide the basic needs for their children as a form of motivation and encouragement and above all team up with the teachers to train, monitor and assess the children at home.
Community participation
Mr Sottie stressed that nowadays the government policy governing pre-tertiary institutions was community participation/ community based.
He said it was the community in which the school was located that determined the quality of education that was to be given to its members under the guidance of the national goals and objectives and, therefore, stressed the need for the school management committees (SMCs) and the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) to be very active to assist the school management to deliver the needed quality education for the pupils.
Background of school
The Proprietor of the school, Mr Bico Daniel Alimo, in his report, said the school which operated the nine-year basic from kindergarten to junior high was established in November 2001 and had a current population of 346 pupils.
He said the school was performing well in the Ada West District and thanked the parents and old students for their support.
Old students
The old students association of the school was inaugurated at the function. The association presented an undisclosed amount of money to support the roofing of a new six-classroom block.
The old students also adopted a very brilliant, needy kindergarten pupil whose basic education fees they would pay as a way of showing appreciation to their alma mater.
Collaboration
The Chief Fisherman of Goi, Nene Woliatse Agamah, chaired the function and urged parents to collaborate with the school to produce great citizens in future.