GIMPA-GRASAG urges students to use Easter period for self-renewal

The Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) chapter of the Graduate Students’ Association of Ghana (GRASAG), has urged students to use the Easter period for self-renewal.

A release signed by Mr Raphael Apetorgbor, the President, GIMPA-GRASAG, which was copied to the Ghana News Agency, extended his compliment of the season to all students and people of Ghana.

"This week we celebrate the Lord Jesus Christ, the Teacher from Galilee, whose death and resurrection we celebrate as Easter," he said.

"The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many."

He noted that Easter is a period of renewal, change, growth and covenants kept.

"We hope you renew yourselves in hope, strength in God and have faith that this Corona Virus Disease (CODVI-19) pandemic will be over soon," he said.

"This year's celebration of Easter is taking place at a time that the country and the rest of the world have had to deal with a very difficult pandemic that have a negative effect on our academics and economy, and has caused the death of thousands of people worldwide.

"We must, therefore, be prepared and willing to make sacrifices to reposition our academic and economy."

Mr Apetorgbor urged Ghanaians to remember in their prayers, friends and family who lost their lives or businesses and those who were hospitalised owing to the CODVI-19 pandemic.

He said the Easter period had also come at a time the nation's educational institutions had suspended classroom teaching and learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which had resulted in more virtual teaching and learning.

"Let us seize the opportunity and take advantage of online teaching and learning and adapt to it. Virtual teaching and learning is the wave of the future- the advantages are beyond the coronavirus," Mr Apetorgbor stated.

"We further believe online teaching and learning is a possible solution to widen access to education at an affordable cost and bridges capacity gaps".

He said the flexibility of online delivery enables people to work and study simultaneously, thereby making degrees more affordable and more manageable for a greater range of students.

Mr Apetorgbor said: "We are, therefore, calling on tertiary institutions to brace up and embrace e-learning. It could help institutions get more students and extend the frontiers of learning to people who would ordinarily not have been able to attend."

He also appealed to all students to use the occasion of Easter as yet another opportunity for promoting the virtues of good brotherliness, peace, harmony and tolerance.

"Let us stand firmly together in common humanity as we ask for the good Lord's continued protection and blessings," he said.

"We call for vibrant ideas that will help government improve its response to this pandemic and encourage all to keep practising social distancing and wash their hands regularly following expert advice," he added.