Constitute governing councils for education colleges - Ag Presby Moderator urges government

The acting Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rev. Dr Okoe Abbey, has cautioned the government not to trigger a repeat of the legal battles going on at the University of Education, Winneba and the Wa Polytechnic.

According to him, failure on the part of the government to actively involve governing councils when converting colleges into universities was unlawful as the colleges needed the councils to be able to operate well and legally.

Rev. Dr Abbey, therefore, challenged the government’s inability to create governing councils for public colleges as they were an essential body in the proper administration of the institutions.

“For over a year now, our colleges of education are operating without their governing councils. May we know the reason why it is taking so long a time to satisfy this legal requirement?” he asked at the launch of the 90th anniversary celebration of the Presbyterian Women’s College of Education (PWCE) in Accra.

Launch

The launch, which was on the theme: “90 Years of Training Female Teachers; Acknowledging the Past, Celebrating the Present and Planning for the Future,” was attended by some high-ranking officials from the presbytery, staff and students of PWCE and the media.

Value the contribution of the Church

Rev. Dr Abbey said policy makers would be doing the nation a great disfavour if they did not appreciate the contributions made by the Church towards education.

He called on the Ministry of Education and the Ghana Education Service to value the contributions of the Church and treat it with due respect.

“If the policy makers think that they pay the teachers so they can do everything without the Church or other stakeholders, then the policy makers are doing a great disservice to the nation,” he noted.

Develop our nation

Citing a publication in the Daily Graphic on Wednesday, April 11, 2018 where the Deputy Minister of Education, Mrs Barbara Asher Ayisi, was reported to have said public colleges were to be converted to university colleges, Rev. Dr Abbey underscored the need for collaborative efforts between the Church and the educational sector to work in unity and with understanding.

By so doing, he said, there would be rapid development in the nation.

“Nobody has consulted the churches concerning this new development of transformation. The Presbyterian Church of Ghana doesn’t know the implication of this policy, and how can the churches support a policy they know nothing about or do not understand? Let us work in unity and understanding to develop this nation,” he averred.

Principal

For her part, the Principal of the PWCE, Dr Mrs Harriet Naki Amui, urged students to strive to become women of substance, exhibiting professionalism in every facet of life.

She encouraged the students to weed out the culture of laziness and embrace the habit of self-discipline and hard work as that was the hallmark of success.