Second Lady says  moral training in schools still necessary 

Second Lady Mrs Matilda Nana Manye Amissah- Arthur, the  has made a strong case for schools to continue with the moral training of pupils, and urged teachers to be good role models.

She commended the Methodist Church for its role in the inculcating of moral values in addition for striving to maintain academic excellence.

Speaking in Accra, at the launching of this year’s Methodist Education Week, Mrs Amissah-Arthur called on the Church it not to relent in helping to provide the teaching and learning materials to support Government’s efforts.

In addition, it must effectively ensure that the teachers in their schools maintain quality teaching, discipline and be role models.

The week is being observed on the theme :” Witnessing to Christ- Mobilising Our Connexional Resources for Educational Development,” and with a suggested activities as talk on the theme, competition in hymn singing, quiz, interaction with Parent-Teacher Association, School Management Committees, clean-up activities  and church parade.

This time around, the celebration of the education week is specifically designed to raise funds to support the development of education in the Northern, the Upper East and Upper West Regions of Ghana. 

Data available indicate by the year 2009, the Methodist Church had established in Ghana 719 kindergartens, 1017 primary schools, 483 junior high schools, 20 senior high schools, 22 vocational schools, three colleges of education and one university.

The “Second Lady” recalled the Methodist Education Policy which emphasizes that education received should be bases on academic excellence and the development of productive skills to lead to the development of individuals involved with honesty, integrity, Christian values, professional and work ethics.

The execution of the policy by the Church had contributed education development with the resultant producing of men and women who had been at the helm of affairs in the country and had also at various times in the history of the country moved it forward.

“In fact, all over the world, there are products of the Methodists schools in Ghana performing very creditably,” the “Second Lady" said.
 
She called for a strong collaboration between the religious bodies with the Government of Ghana to address the nation’s educational needs.

The Most Rev Professor Emmanuel Kwaku Asante, the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, Ghana, in a keynote address, said the school provided a place for evangelism.

He gave an over view of the development of secular education in Ghana, and said education was a means of fostering nationalism and citizenship.

The Most Rev Asante in strong terms called for the r-opening of closed mission boarding schools to rekindle the bond of unity among Ghanaians from different ethnic groups. 

The Rev Ama Afo Blay, a former Director General of the Ghana Education Service, herself a Methodist, appealed to adherents of the faith to work hard to restore the reputation of Methodist schools as a place of moral and academic excellence.
				
GNA