The Tamale Ecclesiastical Province Pastoral Conference (TEPPCON) has bemoaned challenges bedeviling the country’s educational system.
“The educational system must not be changed with every change of government.”
TEPPCON further called on the government to ensure proper management, supervision, and cost-sharing of education at all levels.
This was contained in a communique issued by TEPPCON, signed by Most Reverend Philip Naameh, Metropolitan Archbishop of Tamale and President of TEPPCON, and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Tamale.
The communique was developed from the TEPPCON’s 20th Biennial Plenary Assembly held in Damongo in the Savannah Region from November 27 to December 01 on the theme: “The Crisis of Education in Ghana: The Role of Government and Stakeholders “.
It was attended by the Bishops, Executive Members and Delegates under TEPPCON, which is made up of all the Dioceses of the Catholic Church in the northern part of the country.
The communique said the free Senior High School policy, even though laudable, suffered poor implementation from the onset and was faced with challenges that threatened to overwhelm Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE).
It said the initiative to emphasize Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and improvement in the education system was commendable, but the system was confronted with many challenges.
Some of the challenges listed by the communique included overcrowded classrooms, inadequate teachers and educational infrastructure, lack of teaching and learning materials and teaching methods being more instructional rather than being facilitative.
The communique said the failure of government to have a clear memorandum of understanding with the faith-based units of education to express the partnership and collaboration needed for quality education delivery communicated a mere show of power not seen in the most developed world.
It called on government, religious leaders, NGOs, chiefs, community leaders and all people of goodwill to join in the promotion of proper spiritual and moral values in schools for a healthy society.
It further urged stakeholders to initiate cultural and institutional mindset change to eliminate unpleasant habits acquired in the schools that caused poverty, indiscipline, greed, waste, and indifference to the pain of others.