Curriculum Content Must Meet Global Trends - Mr Abotsi

Mr Ernest Kofi Abotsi, Managing Partners, Axis Legal Solicitors has said the country’s curriculum content must meet global standards for graduate students to be productive in the emerging world of markets.

Mr Abotsi noted that, it was imperative for every school environment to provide the needed supportive spaces to nurture talent and genius for national development.

He said this in Accra to mark the 90th anniversary of St Augustine’s College on the theme “Developing the School Environment for Effective Education: Whether St Augustine’s College?

He said a country’s development was a function of the quality of its education, stressing that the future of education occupied a foremost agenda in our national discourse, but Ghana’s ranking and performances in global educational ratings was poor.

Research has revealed that Ghana is placed last on the list of 76 countries scored.

Mr Abotsi, who was the former Dean of Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration School of Law said to enhance teaching and learning, education must be seen as a product of management, infrastructure and philosophy.

Touching on education as a product of management, he said the role of management in education was critical as they crafted educational agenda, implemented policy and steered the affairs of the school in the direction of attaining a defined goal.

“Managers inspire leadership in students and synchronise the efforts of teachers, administrators and students, leadership in students and synchronize the efforts of teachers, administrators and students.
Management makes a school by driving an agenda of education and human development”, he added.

He said the internal managers of schools helped churn out students who distinguished themselves, adding that the impact of the contemporary internal managers of schools were underestimated and seen as mere ministerial entities, instructed on carrying out official government policy.

Mr Abotsi said the current trend in management of high school was unsustainable and problematic because the model was overly centralised and undermined the need for flexibility in the lives of different schools with different historical and philosophical slants.

On education as a product of infrastructure, Mr Abotsi said successful systems or models must be carried out within the context of appropriate infrastructure support.

He said providing classrooms, dormitories, logistics, social activity spaces including; sports and entertainment commensurated with the training of mind and body was essential for the successful training of students.

The renowned lawyer said to enhance teaching and learning environment of the College, old students who continued to invest their life savings in the school must be made to feel a sense of commonwealth.

He said appropriate infrastructure would provide the needed support for study whereas for teachers and mangers, it would drive and inspire an appropriate environment and provide job satisfaction.

On education as a philosophy, Mr Abotsi posited that the school must shape in the student a philosophy which inspired a lifestyle that reflected the school’s world view.

He stressed that today’s education should help the trainee build not only his psycho-motor skills, but also a set of values consistent with development and life in general.

Mr Abotsi encouraged schools to institute measures to avoid bullying because such acts demoralised students and destroyed the ego and confidence of others.

Mr Ken Ashigbey, said the church and old students must be made to contribute towards the development of the school to complement government effort in the running the affairs of the institution.

Mr Richard Acolatse, Chairman of Planning Committee of the Anniversary said there would be a memorial mass on Sunday September 1, 2019 at Ola Catholic Church at 0900 hours and other activities such as health screening, clean-up exercise and games.