Two university lecturers have called for a balanced approach to the country’s education transformation agenda that integrates indigenous values with modern technological skills to produce morally grounded and globally competitive citizens.
They made the call during a public lecture organised by Abor Senior High School to herald the climax of its 60th Anniversary celebration in Accra.
The event, held on the theme “60 Years of Impactful Journey: Providing Transformative Secondary Education Through Indigenous Values and 21st Century Skills,” brought together educationists, alumni, and policy stakeholders to discuss the future of secondary education in Ghana.
Professor Edem Kwasi Bakah of the Department of French at the University of Cape Coast lamented the erosion of indigenous values among Ghanaian youth, describing them as “the soul of every society.”
He said that, “We, Ghanaians, have virtually lost our soul,” attributing the moral breakdown in schools to five key stakeholders: the family, schools, chieftaincy institutions and community, religious institutions, and the new media, especially social media.
Prof. Bakah noted that any national “reset agenda” would only succeed if anchored on a deliberate promotion of indigenous values such as respect, honesty, discipline, and communal spirit.
Lauding the government’s recent school farm initiative launched on August 29, 2025, Prof. Bakah described it as a potential vehicle for teaching students virtues such as patience, hard work, perseverance, teamwork, and resilience.
He urged the government to go beyond viewing the initiative as a feeding intervention and to use it as a means of cultivating strong moral and work ethics among students.
“If we are to truly transform education, we must first transform values,” he said.
Blending technology
For his part, a lecturer at the Department of Economics Education at the University of Education, Winneba, Dr Emmanuel Mensaklo, stressed the need to integrate 21st-century skills into Ghana’s educational system to prepare students for an AI-driven global economy.
He identified critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication as the essential skills for success in the modern world.
Dr Mensaklo, however, cautioned that these skills must be rooted in human values such as empathy, kindness, and moral courage.
He warned that “technical skills without human values are not only incomplete but also dangerous.”
Calling for a sustained and structured implementation of skill-based education, he said Ghana must learn from past reforms that failed due to poor follow-through.
The school’s headmaster, Rev.Dr Seth Gocky Agbeyome, has called for support in infrastructure development, mentorship programmes, and donations to elevate the school to greater heights.
