ROLE OF CHURCH IN EDUCATIONAL REFORM CRUCIAL (PAGE 11)

Story: Chris Nunoo, Wa

THE Vice-Dean of Students of the University for Development Studies (UDS), Wa Campus, Dr Clifford Maasole, has called for the institution of realistic mechanisms under the new educational reform to impart to students not only academic knowledge, but also skills, particularly in the area of information technology.
That, he said, was the only means to groom the youth of today into meeting the challenges of the new millennium.
Addressing the annual general meeting of the Wa Catholic Diocesan Priests Association (WADPA) in Wa, in the Upper West Region, Dr Maasole said the role of the church in the new educational reform was very crucial.
The meeting was on the theme: “The church and state partnership in implementing the new education reform.”
“School education today must let the youth acquire something in knowledge and skills in information and technology if they are to prosper in the new millennium,” he stated.
He, therefore, stressed the need for the total involvement of all stakeholders in education, if the country was to achieve a middle-level income status by the year 2015.
Dr Maasole deplored the system where major policy decisions, such as the new educational reform, were done solely at the top and imposed on the implementors, stressing that when that happened, “they would accept the reform, but not the impetus for the reform”.
On ethnic conflict in the entire northern part of the country, Dr Maasole emphasised the need for all to help fight the war against violence.
He said violence was doing more harm to the entire social fabric of the northern society.
“These conflicts must be addressed, if we wished to be part of the new reform,” he said.
The Catholic Bishop of Wa, Most Rev. Paul Bemile, pointed out the role of the Catholic Church in the development of education since independence, and stressed the need for all to respect the religious freedoms and personal interests of students of other faith.
Bishop Bemile also gave a hint about the preparation of a new syllabus by the Catholic Bishops Conference under the reform, and urged teachers in the Catholic schools to rise up to the challenges of the time.
The Upper West Regional Minister, Mr George Hickah Benson, in a speech read on his behalf, commended the Catholic Church for its role in the development of education in the region and the country at large.
He expressed grave concern about the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS in the region as against the national prevalence rate, saying the prevalence rate in the region was higher than that of the entire nation.
For his part, the President of WADPA, Rev. Matthew Tuuronsong, urged the media to continue to stand by the truth at all times, even in the face of all opposition.
He called for the establishment of a new teacher training college to train more teachers for the region.