Rev. Dr. Isaac Mills Owoo, Senior Pastor of the Redemption Baptist Church in Cape Coast, has urged government to monitor the Computerized School Selection Placement System, which he alleged, was being abused by some officials at the Ministry of Education.
He alleged that some students with good grades were denied admission into senior high schools of their choice, and were placed in schools they did not themselves select, only to be substituted with students with lower grades.
Rev. Dr. Mill-Owoo, who is also the Executive Director of the Redemption Baptist School in Cape Coast, made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency during the 20th Anniversary Celebration and Sixth Speech and Prize-Giving Day of the school.
The celebration was on the theme: Effective Schools and Effective Parenting in Partnership to Create Effective Leadership
Rev. Dr. Mill-Owoo said the situation frustrated parents, since most of them moved from school to school, begging for admission, and urged government to punish any official involved in the practice when confirmed, to serve as a deterrent to other officials.
He said the situation was a clear indication of the level of corruption that had engulfed the country, adding that institutional corruption had risen beyond over inflation of the cost in awards of the construction and supply of contracts to schools, to the abuse of the enrollment system, thus affecting innocent children.
These are children whose parents have struggled to endure the high level of school fees," he stressed
Rev. Dr. Mill-Owoo also expressed worry over the rampant leakage of examination papers at the Basic Education Certificate Examinations (BECE) level, such that the re-marking normally affected innocent students in other schools.
He also appealed to government to ensure a more effective decentralization of the various ministries, especially the Ministry of Education, to reduce the referral to Accra when district offices were approached on basic administrative issues.
He described the situation as frustrating, adding that the practice defeated the very essence of the decentralization policy.
He urged parents and teachers not to abandon their religious commitment and responsibility, to ensure that their children receive what it takes to succeed academically, socially, spiritually and emotionally, despite the current economic and other challenges facing the country.
Please let us cooperate to improve upon our approach to the holistic development of the child, as we combine godliness and morality to their academic development
Rev. Dr. Mill-Ewoo expressed gratitude to all stakeholders of the school, especially the past and present leadership of the Baptist Church, for their commitment to the development of the school.
Mr. Felix Ansah, Assistant Director of Supervision and Monitoring of the Cape Coast Metropolitan Education Directorate, noted that though transmission of knowledge at school and home differed in form and content, both institutions did so with the ultimate aim of producing an individual fit and functional in society.
He added that for the two to be effective, there must exist indicators or a combination of discipline, firmness, care, forthright, kindness, among others, adding that the school and home must complement the role of each other..
He urged parents and teachers to effectively play their role to create effective future leaders.
The Headmaster of the school, Mr. William Addison, said the school scored 96.4 percent in the 2013/2014 BECE, and that 27 out of the 28 candidates passed creditably, and gained admission into various senior high schools in the region.
He urged the current final year students to study hard to improve upon the results, and appealed to the school board to institute an educational loan fund to enable teachers further their education.
Dr. Linda Dzama Forde, a senior lecturer at the University Of Cape Coast, who chaired the function, urged parents not to deprive their children of the right to be loved, treated with respect at both home and school, since it was critical in the development of the child.
Pupils who distinguished themselves academically were awarded with certificates and books.
Source: GNA
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