‘Incorporate character formation in curriculum’
The Dean of the School of Graduate Studies of the University of Professional Studies (UPS), Accra, Professor Goski Alabi, has underscored the need for the incorporation of character formation lessons into the educational curriculum of basic and secondary schools.
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That, she said, was a prerequisite for achieving academic excellence.
Speaking at the seventh graduation and Speech and Prize-Giving Day of the Vilac International School (VIS) in Accra on the theme: “Discipline and Hard work; Prerequisite for Academic Excellence,” Prof. Alabi noted that it took discipline and character to accomplish one’s goals in life.
According to her, many basic and secondary schools placed more emphasis on discipline and hard work, which she said were not all one needed to attain high academic excellence; rather, good character formation should be nurtured to go hand in hand with it.
She said peer pressure was one of the greatest forces which prevented people from achieving their goals, but said, however, with good character formation, peer pressure could be avoided.
Prof. Alabi, therefore, advised the graduands to develop their character in order to succeed in life, adding that they should also develop good people skills which would do for them what professional skills would not.
Discipline
She tasked graduands to be disciplined and strong-willed to be able to do what was right to contribute their quota to development, saying that they should hold their school in high esteem and not allow anyone to force them into making wrong decisions which would dent the image of the school.
Infrastructure deficit
The Principal of the junior high school section of VIS, Mr Kofi Boakye, said although the school had chalked up some successes, there were infrastructure deficits it had to address.
For his part, the Principal of the senior high school section, Mr Cecil Mends, advised the graduands to use their potentials wisely, as this, he said, would determine how their future would be shaped.
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“Though the world is strangled by an economic crunch, it is no reason to be lured into corrupt acts,” he added.
In all, 88 students graduated. But the number 23 were from the secondary school with Cambridge International Certificate Secondary Exams and Cambridge A-Level certificates, 20 students from the junior school with Cambridge Checkpoint 3 certificates and Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) certificates and 30 students from the preschool.
A scholarship package worth $50,000 was awarded to Miss Akua Owusu Addai of graduating class of Checkpoint 3 to continue her education at Milton Academy in Massachusetts in the United States of America (USA), for being the overall best student for her course.