The government will soon return the management and supervision of mission schools to religious bodies, the Minister of Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has hinted.
The move, according to the minister, would be in fulfilment of the 2016 manifesto pledge of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the run-up to the December 7, 2016 general election.
He stated that just as the government paid the salaries of doctors, nurses and staff of some mission hospitals in the country, the state would continue to take care of the salaries of teachers in mission schools after the appropriate contract had been signed between the government and the religious bodies.
Dr Prempeh was interacting with journalists after addressing a stakeholders’ forum on education in Kumasi yesterday.
The forum, attended by regional and district directors of education, headmasters, bursars and accountants of senior high schools, was aimed at discussing how best the country could improve on the quality of education.
The event was also intended for the minister to brief the stakeholders on the implementation of the free senior high school policy.
Recent feud
Religious organisations have oftentimes called on the government to return mission schools to them to manage and supervise.
The Catholic Church has been at the forefront of the call on the state to return the schools to religious bodies.
In 2014, the Christian Council of Ghana said its members were in a position to better maintain schools established by some of the churches in the country and called on the government to release all schools belonging to some of its members to them.
Some of the schools include Wesley Girls, Presbyterian Boys’ School and Adisadel College.
In 2016, the Chairman of the National Peace Council, the Most. Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Asante, called for proper partnership between government and religious bodies towards the management of mission schools.
Minister
Expatiating on the government’s intention to give the mission schools to the religious bodies, Dr Prempeh said the government was not running away from the fact that it had to allow the private sector to participate in the public space in the educational sector.
He said just as the government paid for Ghanaians to seek medical attention at private hospitals through the National Health Insurance Scheme, a similar arrangement could be made in the case of education.
Filth in schools
Touching on filth and bedbugs that had ‘invaded’ some boarding senior high schools, the minister urged the affected schools to ensure environmental sanitation.
He said it did not make any sense to give the job of the cleaning of high schools to outsiders, adding that he learnt to wash his clothes, clean the toilet, scrub gutters and clean bathrooms at the Prempeh College, where he had his secondary education.
He said because of sanitation, the problem of bedbugs infestation did not arise during his schooldays and wondered why it had become pervasive in schools now.
Source: Daily Graphic
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The best thing this gov't could ever do for Ghana is this. God bless you. We will have quality education and discipline once again.
NPP I THANK GOD FOR NPP. THEIR Polices are in the interest of ghana . Please do this urgently . i went to catholic school and i know the impact it had on me. Npp THANK U
On the surface, it looks a good policy. There are many issues we need to think through. 1. The first one is on religious education. Ghana is a secular country with religious pluralism as the guiding philosophy. This is reflected in our religious syllabi at all levels of education. Will the various religious groups respect this? Are they not going to use these schools for the parochial interest of each religion which could be the breeding ground of religious intolerance? 2. Who will pay the teachers and fund projects? Will it come from the public purse? Should the public fund these schools and stay away from how the school is managed? 3. I have an unforgettable experience in teaching in a girls' school affiliated to a religious group. There was an occasion that a Muslim with good leadership qualities was not offered the position of the girls' prefect simply because she was not a Christian! Can we ensure that fairness and meritocracy would operate in these schools instead of using religious affiliation to determine who would become a leader? Let us pause a bit and reflect. We should not toy with our education. There is no evidence that mission schools would offer sound moral education which reflect in the lives of people. If so, the church and the mosque would have produced good citizens with the nation at heart. The lifestyle of some clergy leaves much to desire. There is no guarantee that academic and moral life of people would improve. There are good and sound educational reason for the state absorbing these schools.
THIS IS A GOOD NEWS, MY GLORIOUS AND FAMOUS ST. AUGUSTINE'S COLLEGE IN CAPE COAST WILL SOON HAVE ITS SHINING DAYS AGAIN. SPLENDID MOVE,MR PRESIDENT GOD BLESS YOU FOR THIS BOLD DECISION,
This is good. It will instill discipline, truth and responsibility in the students. those of us who had the opportunity to be in such mission schools are enjoying the benefits of such virtues.
Good move.
Waaw, I love that. Nana is truly at work
Very good Mr Minister its overdue the country will bounce back
Good move. Ghana will work again
A WELL FASHIONED DECISION IN THE INTEREST OF RESTORING CHRISTIAN AND MORAL VALUES INTO OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM. IT WILL ALSO REVIVE THE HEALTHY ACADEMIC COMPETITION AMONG LOCAL AUTHOURITY AND MISSION SCHOOLS. IT WILL CREATE PROPER SUPERVISION AND RAISE THE LEVEL OF OUR ACADEMIC STANDARDS. A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. THE SOONER THE BETTER.