An Educationist Mr. Emmanuel Boadi has stated that the government pushing away church-state partnerships in education could compromise the discipline of students in the country because churches impact positively in students’ lives if their schools are been connected or attached to the church.
Speaking on Plan B FM’s late afternoon show EBAANOSEN, hosted by Ohene Kinnah, Mr. Boadi explained that churches can provide support, encouragement, and learning to students in a committed fashion.
He stressed that churches can provide schools with material resources. Sometimes this may be food which may reduce the burden on the government in providing such items to the schools.
“Churches are filled with people driven by their faith to give generously. With this in mind, churches can also provide financial resources to help with special needs and funds for particular programs if they are being connected to the educational system in the country”. He added.
The President of the Catholic Bishops Conference, Most Reverend Mathew Gyamfi says the Akufo-Addo-led administration has been a terrible disaster in the area of church-state partnership in education delivery.
Most Reverend Mathew Gyamfi has observed that the New Patriotic Party NPP has worsened the already existing toxic relationship between government and missions in the management of schools in the country
“Beginning of this year, the Ghana Education Service Council, has canceled the representation of the Catholic Church, the Methodist, the Presbyterian, and the Islamic Mission on the Council where we meet to discuss issues on education”.
“Most educational reforms of the state have consciously sidelined the church, and deliberately eroded her influence in the schools the church has founded and managed for many years, the question is, what harm has the church caused? “He quizzed.
Most Reverend Mathew Gyamfi said this while delivering a keynote address at the 10th anniversary of Our Lady Graces Senior High School at Mamponteng in the Kwabre East Municipality of the Ashanti Region on Saturday, September 30, 2023.
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 would control a huge majority of the 575 schools now under the state’s management.
Before the 2017 presidential polls, calls for a return of mission schools to churches intensified as churches complained about the negative effects of secularization on school children.
Following the calls, President Akufo-Addo in November 2017 promised to return all mission schools to the churches when voted into power.
Seven years after being in office President Akuffo Addo has yet to honor the end of his bargain for the churches.
“President Akufo-Addo in 2017 promised a historic handing over of mission schools across the country to its original administrators, the churches, seven years in office as the president and nothing has been done about the pledge”.
Most Reverend Mathew Gyamfi noted that, indeed government’s withdrawal of management of mission schools would delight traditional churches like Presbyterian, Methodist, Anglican, and Catholic churches, as it will help the church to instill discipline among the students but they do not see any light in this promise.
He expressed worry over the government’s continued move to push the churches away from schools the churches founded.
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