‘Collaborate with Managers of Education Units’
By Doreen Darko
Rev. Fr. John Amankwa, President of the Conference of Managers of Catholic Education Unit (COMCEU), has urged Regional, Municipal and District Directors of Education to co-operate with Managers of Catholic Educational Units to enhance education delivery in the country. He called on Government to give the Units their rightful place in the educational system, suggesting that Regional Managers should be allowed to have considerable control in their Schools.
He said this during the opening of the 30th Annual Conference of COMCEU at Koforidua on the theme: Catholic Education: A Formation for Good Stewardship. Participants shared experiences, made projections for the future and deliberated on the role of the Church in education delivery in the country.
The opening ceremony of the five-day Conference was attended by Regional Managers of Catholic Education Units from all the ten Regions in Ghana, Regional and Municipal Directors of Education, Regional Managers of other Educational Units, Heads of Catholic Schools, Local Managers of Catholic Schools, Teachers and Students.
Fr. Amankwa was hopeful that the Church-State Partnership Agreement which had been “in the pipeline” for so long would be signed so that the roles of Regional and Local Managers would be spelt out clearly to avoid conflicts with the Directors of Education. He stated that the theme was appropriate based on the current moral decadence in the country.
He said that Catholic Education was not only aimed at acquiring knowledge but also to ensure a sound religious and moral upbringing of students based on the Gospel values, adding that “the best we can give our children is to provide a sound formation of the mind and effective relationship such that the recipient of the education can put their expertise at the doorstep of the society in a humane way”.
Fr. Amankwa called on all stakeholders to ensure that children were formed holistically to become good stewards of the country.
The Acting Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Mr. Jacob A. M. Kor, who was the Guest of Honour, said the Education Unit had not been taken over by the Government, adding that the Church-State Partnership which had existed since 1885 was still in force despite the few challenges it was facing.
He urged the Missions to partner the State since the State alone could not provide all the educational needs of the country, adding that it was only when the Educational Units as well as other stakeholders came together that the educational goals of the country would be achieved.
Mr. Kor hinted that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the various stakeholders in education submitted to the GES had been signed awaiting approval by the Ministry of Education. He asked Unit Managers and Headteachers to study the educational policies of the country in order to insist that the right things were done by the Directors of Education.
He advised all stakeholders to do effective monitoring and supervision to ensure quality education. He called for inter-religious tolerance and live together as one people with a common aim and destiny. Mr. Kor advised Students to learn with passion, make good use of their time and resources available to them.
In a Keynote address, Mr. Peter Attafuah, Principal of the Mount Mary College of Education at Somanya, said the ultimate aim of Catholic education was to prepare students to be good stewards of God’s gift and active people of faith who serve others, make a difference in the world and participate in their faith and civic communities. He stated: “As Managers of Catholic Schools in Ghana, we should be committed to the continuous improvements in this critical mission of the Schools.
“One of the tools that could be used to measure the impact of religious education is the Assessment of Catholic Religious Education (ACRE). We can prepare this national-norm questionnaire which could be administered annually to Students in Junior High and Senior High Schools”, he said.
ACRE Measures Students’ knowledge about their faith and offers opportunities for Students to answer questions related to their religious beliefs, practices and perceptions. He urged the Managers to monitor activities of the Schools to ensure the Catholic identity in the Schools were maintained.
Most Rev. Gabriel Edoe Kumordji, SVD, Bishop of the Donkorkrom Vicariate, who chaired the ceremony, said if Religious and Moral Education was left out in the school curriculum, the educational system would produce intelligent people who are corrupt because they do not have moral upbringing, adding that education without morality is a dangerous tool.
Present at the ceremony were Rev. Msgr. Francis Twum Barimah, Vicar General of the Koforidua Diocese, Nana Nyantakyi Tutu Boateng and Nana Yaa Dani Krontehene and Queenmother of the New Juaben Traditional Area respectively and Very Rev. Fr. John Addae Boateng, General Manager of Catholic Schools, who read a Goodwill message on behalf of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
Rev. Fr. John Amankwa, President of the Conference of Managers of Catholic Education Unit (COMCEU), has urged Regional, Municipal and District Directors of Education to co-operate with Managers of Catholic Educational Units to enhance education delivery in the country. He called on Government to give the Units their rightful place in the educational system, suggesting that Regional Managers should be allowed to have considerable control in their Schools.
He said this during the opening of the 30th Annual Conference of COMCEU at Koforidua on the theme: Catholic Education: A Formation for Good Stewardship. Participants shared experiences, made projections for the future and deliberated on the role of the Church in education delivery in the country.
The opening ceremony of the five-day Conference was attended by Regional Managers of Catholic Education Units from all the ten Regions in Ghana, Regional and Municipal Directors of Education, Regional Managers of other Educational Units, Heads of Catholic Schools, Local Managers of Catholic Schools, Teachers and Students.
Fr. Amankwa was hopeful that the Church-State Partnership Agreement which had been “in the pipeline” for so long would be signed so that the roles of Regional and Local Managers would be spelt out clearly to avoid conflicts with the Directors of Education. He stated that the theme was appropriate based on the current moral decadence in the country.
He said that Catholic Education was not only aimed at acquiring knowledge but also to ensure a sound religious and moral upbringing of students based on the Gospel values, adding that “the best we can give our children is to provide a sound formation of the mind and effective relationship such that the recipient of the education can put their expertise at the doorstep of the society in a humane way”.
Fr. Amankwa called on all stakeholders to ensure that children were formed holistically to become good stewards of the country.
The Acting Director General of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Mr. Jacob A. M. Kor, who was the Guest of Honour, said the Education Unit had not been taken over by the Government, adding that the Church-State Partnership which had existed since 1885 was still in force despite the few challenges it was facing.
He urged the Missions to partner the State since the State alone could not provide all the educational needs of the country, adding that it was only when the Educational Units as well as other stakeholders came together that the educational goals of the country would be achieved.
Mr. Kor hinted that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the various stakeholders in education submitted to the GES had been signed awaiting approval by the Ministry of Education. He asked Unit Managers and Headteachers to study the educational policies of the country in order to insist that the right things were done by the Directors of Education.
He advised all stakeholders to do effective monitoring and supervision to ensure quality education. He called for inter-religious tolerance and live together as one people with a common aim and destiny. Mr. Kor advised Students to learn with passion, make good use of their time and resources available to them.
In a Keynote address, Mr. Peter Attafuah, Principal of the Mount Mary College of Education at Somanya, said the ultimate aim of Catholic education was to prepare students to be good stewards of God’s gift and active people of faith who serve others, make a difference in the world and participate in their faith and civic communities. He stated: “As Managers of Catholic Schools in Ghana, we should be committed to the continuous improvements in this critical mission of the Schools.
“One of the tools that could be used to measure the impact of religious education is the Assessment of Catholic Religious Education (ACRE). We can prepare this national-norm questionnaire which could be administered annually to Students in Junior High and Senior High Schools”, he said.
ACRE Measures Students’ knowledge about their faith and offers opportunities for Students to answer questions related to their religious beliefs, practices and perceptions. He urged the Managers to monitor activities of the Schools to ensure the Catholic identity in the Schools were maintained.
Most Rev. Gabriel Edoe Kumordji, SVD, Bishop of the Donkorkrom Vicariate, who chaired the ceremony, said if Religious and Moral Education was left out in the school curriculum, the educational system would produce intelligent people who are corrupt because they do not have moral upbringing, adding that education without morality is a dangerous tool.
Present at the ceremony were Rev. Msgr. Francis Twum Barimah, Vicar General of the Koforidua Diocese, Nana Nyantakyi Tutu Boateng and Nana Yaa Dani Krontehene and Queenmother of the New Juaben Traditional Area respectively and Very Rev. Fr. John Addae Boateng, General Manager of Catholic Schools, who read a Goodwill message on behalf of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference.