The Catholic Bishops’ Conference has accepted the apology from President Mahama for the omission committed by way of delaying the clergy’s invitation to the National Education Forum, currently taking place at Ho, the Volta Regional capital.
The Vice President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, the Most Reverend Emmanuel Kofi Fianu, who made this known at the forum, expressed the church’s gratitude to the President and the Minister for Education for the subsequent invitation of the church to be part of the event.
He said the vital role education played in national development could not be overemphasised, which called for collaboration of stakeholders to promote quality education.
Most Rev. Fianu said the Catholic Church was not happy about some appointments and transfers to and from Catholic schools without recourse to the church, and wondered whether there existed partnership in the education sector.
He stressed that the dissemination of information on educational matters without reaching out to a major stakeholder such as the Catholic Church was unacceptable.
Most Rev. Fianu lamented the unfriendly nature some education directors related to the Catholic Church, which according to him did not promote collaboration in the delivery of quality education.
He said that the over-population at second cycle schools which affected character formation, teacher-student ratio, teacher contact hours with individual students and proper supervision was of concern to the Catholic Bishops.
Most Rev. Fianu said the Catholic Church was against the use of its school compounds for structural development without any engagement with the church.
On national issues, he condemned the upsurge in social vices and corrupt practices in the country.
Most Rev. Fianu called for introduction of religious, moral, ethical and civic education that would lead to the production of responsible and productive citizens and not just knowledgeable and skillful individuals, who would become social misfit.
The President, on behalf of the Planning Committee of the National Education Forum said: “I’m aware that the omission was very speedily remedied, but you still deserve an unqualified apology for this oversight. And since you are the purveyors of God’s mercy on earth, I’m sure that you are forgiving us for this.”
President Mahama’s apology was in response to a joint statement issued in Accra by the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) and the Christian Council of Ghana (CCG), expressing their disappointment in the government following their exclusion from the ongoing education forum.
The two bodies stated that even though the list of invitees to the national level stakeholders included some organisations that were affiliated to them, they as the parent bodies were excluded from the forum.
FROM SAMUEL
AGBEWODE, HO
