Ghanaians urged to help raise educational standards

Nsawam (Oda) (E/R), Aug 24, GNA - The Akwapem South Municipal Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has urged Ghanaians to help in diverse ways to reverse the falling educational standards.

The government is spending colossal sums of money refurbishing old school structures, constructing new ones and training teachers to fill the classrooms, but Mr Clement Donkor said, the academic performance of the pupils is not commensurate with the injected capital.

He was addressing a quiz competition organised by the Municipal Directorate of the NCCE for selected churches at Nsawam, on Monday.

Mr Donkor mentioned some of the problems associated with the declining educational standard as indiscipline, irresponsible parenthood, pupils/students watching videos during school hours, and attending wakes and dances in the evenings and in the night.

He noted that the problems related to the falling standard of education were not only about teachers, but required the collaboration of stakeholders in education to address them to enhance teaching and learning.

The Municipal Director of the NCCE called on parents to take advantage of the Capitation Grant and the School Feeding Programme to send their children to school.

They should also endeavour to exercise their civic responsibilities and help in the nation building, he added.

Mr Donkor stated that the government was determined to reach out to all citizens within the constraints of the available resources and would also continue to pursue prudent policies that would benefit every community.

He stressed that it would require the support of all stakeholders in the communities for the government to fulfill its mandate successfully.

Churches, he urged, should, therefore, help educate their congregation on government policies to enhance their civic awareness.

At the end of the quiz, Godbless Agbemafu from the Evangelical Presbyterian (EP) Church, emerged the winner followed by Collins Tachie Edem from the Saint John's Roman Catholic Church, while Benedicta Goka from the Assemblies of God Church took the third prize.

Each contestant received a framed picture of Jesus Christ, a booklet of the national constitution and a carton of pineapple fruit juice.

But the winner of the first prize, additionally received a bible while the second prize also had a clock.

The Reverend David Owusu Ansah, of the Nsawam Assemblies of God Church, said the NCCE had a constitutional mandate to educate the people on government policies and, therefore, encouraged it to extend its civic education to cover farmers and market women in the Akwapem South Municipality.

Rev. Ansah, also the Chairman of the local Pentecostal Churches at Nsawam, expressed concern about the poor financial standing of the NCCE and the constraint in organizing programmes.

He thanked the companies who assisted to make the programme a reality and appealed to all stakeholders to help resource the Commission to organise programmes.