Youth urged to embrace values, faith, opportunities
The Ayawaso North Municipal Director of Education, Emmanuel Kofi Techi, has urged students at all levels to be disciplined, uphold values, and seize available opportunities to empower themselves.
He also charged the youth to think beyond academic excellence and pursue skills that would ensure sustainable livelihoods.
Speaking at the National All Leavers Summit (NALS) 2025 in Accra last Saturday, he urged them to make choices that benefited not only themselves but also their families, communities, and the nation.
“After learning in school, let us now enter into what will help us live better lives, rather than depending on only one source of income,” Mr Techi said.
Background
NALS was jointly organised by the Schools Outreach Ministry (SOM) of the Church of Pentecost, the Scripture Union, and the Pent Media Centre (PMC) in Accra.
It was held on the theme: "Focusing, Guiding, and Nurturing the Next Generation Today."
It is held simultaneously across more than 130 centres nationwide to guide graduates of basic and secondary education into the next phase of life by strengthening their moral, spiritual, and intellectual foundations.
Mr Techi reminded participants of the provisions of the Education Act, 2008 (Act 778), which outlines the country’s three-tier educational system, which includes basic education (from KG to JHS 3), second cycle (SHS 1–3), and tertiary education.
He explained that learners fell into three groups — recent BECE graduates, SHS graduates, and tertiary leavers.
The director said each stage of the education system came with unique challenges and responsibilities, but also with critical opportunities for personal growth and national contribution.
He said the rationale behind the country’s new curriculum reforms is to focus on “mere passing of examinations” to a holistic approach centred on character building, nurturing values, leadership confidence, and critical thinking.
He said the curriculum was based on six core values: respect, diversity, empathy, commitment to excellence, teamwork and collaboration, truth, and integrity.
Reintroduce
The National Coordinator, School’s Outreach Ministry (SOM) of the Church of Pentecost, Pastor Frank Mensah Tandoh, called for a conscious effort to reintroduce values, morality, principles, and faith into the educational system.
He said, “Education in the past was built on morality and values, but today that foundation is fading. This has led to growing indiscipline among the youth and weakened the moral fabric of society”.
He said the collaboration between Pent Media Centre, Scripture Union, and SOM was designed to help address this challenge by nurturing a new generation grounded in discipline and faith.
Mr Tandoh called the youth to embrace discipline, faith, and values as the foundation for building a prosperous future.
Commitment
The Director of the Pent Media Centre, Rev. Dr Felix Klutse, said the centre was committed to nurturing young people not only to excel intellectually, but also to live with purpose and integrity.
“Education is not just about filling the minds of people with facts and figures; it is about shaping the character and vision of a person,” he said.
Rev. Dr Klutse stressed that every individual had a divine assignment to fulfil: “No one is created by accident; each person has a divine assignment on earth. We are here to be heavenly conscious and to be actively relevant.”
A representative of the SU, Rev. Prof. Ivy Drafor-Amenyah, said the SU played a role as a guiding force for the country’s young people, stressing that the organisation provided a unique space where spiritual formation and responsible citizenship were nurtured.
She said SU filled a critical gap by equipping young people with Bible-based tools such as reading notes, leadership summits, national training programmes and camps that helped them “hide the Word of God in their hearts” and live in ways that aligned with their faith.
She urged the youth to overcome addictions and negative behaviours picked up in school.
