Presby Church wants a say in school administration
The Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Rt Rev Prof Joseph Obiri Yeboah Mante, has stated that Presbyterian schools can only perform better and also produce academically, disciplined students if the government involved the church in the administration of such schools.
He said the breakdown of discipline in such schools was as the result of church’s inability to contribute to matters relating to the administration of its schools.
Currently, he said the PCG can boasts of 2,499 public basic schools, 45 private basic schools, 32 senior high schools (SHS) two vocational institutions, five colleges of education and one research institute.
The PCG Moderator made the statement at the 19th General Assembly of the PCG at Abetifi last Saturday.
The event was attended by delegates from all the Presbyteries in Ghana and other countries such as Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda was expected to elect a new Clerk, the second highest position in the administration of the Presbyterian Church.
The gathering would also address inherent issues affecting the Presbyterian Church in Ghana and plan ahead for next year.
In the words of Rt Rev Prof Mante, the once proverbial Presbyterian discipline associated with PCG schools was no more because the church could not make any suggestions relating to the administration of the schools.
He said such an unfortunate situation had had negative academic impact on character and academic performance of students.
The Ministry of Education, Rt Rev Prof Mante, said the PCG should be given opportunity to offer suggestions for the administration of such schools, especially the appointment of head masters to turn out good students.
Commenting on PCG’s current total membership of 946,628, he appealed to every member to bring in at least one convert to help the church increase membership to 1.5 million by 2024.
Rt Rev Prof Mante was not happy about the rapid decline in membership of sister churches in the advanced countries and stated that the time had come for the church in Africa to take a leading role of evangelisation in the world by sending missionaries to Europe and America.
The Eastern Regional Minister Mr Eric Kwakye Darfour praised the Presbyterian Church for its leadership role in nation building, especially in education.
He said the government was also committed to its 2016 general election promises especially the free SHS policy and that its current enrolment of 800,000 would be increased to about 1.2 million next month.
The fraternal messages from sister churches in Nigeria, Uganda, Ghana Armed Forces chaplainship were delivered.
From Samuel Opare Lartey, Abetifi-Kwahu.
