Catholic Bishops want govt to commit to partnership for education reforms

The Vice-President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC), Most Rev. Emmanuel Kofi Fianu, SVD, has said the non-compliance by some politicians with the partnership between the government and missionaries in the provision of education is inimical to the success of any envisaged education reform.

For instance, he said, some appointments and transfers to and from Catholic schools without recourse to the church left the church wondering whether there existed a partnership with the government.

Bishop Fianu, who is the Catholic Bishop of Ho, made the remarks during a public discussion at the National Education Forum on “Transforming education for a sustainable future” in Ho yesterday.

The forum was attended by stakeholders in education, including students from senior high schools, representatives of the various teacher unions, heads of senior high schools and principals of colleges of education, personnel of the security agencies, traditional rulers and members of the public.

Bishop Fianu said the dissemination of information on educational matters without reaching out to a major stakeholder in education, such as the Catholic Church, was also not acceptable.

“The unfriendly posture of some education directors to the Catholic Church does not in any way promote collaboration in the delivery of quality education,” he added.

Further, Bishop Fianu said the lack of opportunity for the church to be involved in the management of its schools was eroding the faith identity of Catholic schools.

He said the upsurge in social vices and corrupt practices in the country was a great source of concern to the church.

In that regard, the Catholic Bishop of Ho said the church wished to highlight religious, moral, ethical and civic education that would lead to the production of responsible and productive citizens, and not just knowledgeable and skilful individuals who would be social misfits.

Shedding light on the expected reforms, Bishop Fianu said the use of Catholic school compounds for structural developments without any engagement with the church was in bad taste.

“Since Catholic schools are an extension of the church’s faith, the church wishes to humbly appeal to His Excellency, the President of the Republic, to consider posting newly recruited teachers who are Catholics to Catholic schools to keep the Catholic faith alive in Catholic schools,” he said.

Earlier, the Vice Chancellor of Ho Technical University (HTU), Prof. Ben Q. Honyenuga, said there was a need to strengthen educational institutions for the heads to play active roles in their transformation continually.

The transformation also required the active involvement of the churches, he added.

A retired Director of Education, Ms Grace Bonuedi, said it was essential to build more day senior high schools, which provided one hot meal to each student in a day.

She said parents who preferred to send their children to boarding schools must be prepared to pay the boarding and feeding fees.

The Ho Municipal President of the Ghana Society of the Physically Disabled, Alex Korsi Asor Akpo, called for the establishment of disability centres at the second cycle and tertiary institutions to attend to the specific needs of persons with disability.

That, he explained, would help to address the problem of accessibility to high buildings at the schools and provide assistive devices to visually and hearing impaired students.

The Volta Regional President of the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations, Elikplim Klu, expressed similar sentiments.