The Vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, has appealed to churches to
team up with the government to provide educational infrastructure to
meet the needs of the growing population.
In a speech read on his
behalf at the 40th anniversary of the Labone Seventh-Day Adventist
(SDA) Church, the Vice-President urged churches to take a critical look
at the country’s educational infrastructure in order to evolve
strategies to meet its growing demand.
He said it was not enough to
establish new schools without providing facilities that would assist in
enhancing the educational needs of students.
Alhaji Mahama pointed
out that due to the rapid advancement in technology, it was crucial
that early learning practices and systems for children should be
focused on appropriate and enhanced technology to groom them for the
new world.
“The key to our human resource development lies in the
hands of our young ones and as such we need to have interest in their
cognitive, psychological and emotional development,” he added.
He
also stressed the need to enhance the capacity of teachers, especially
in the use of modern teaching and learning materials for rapid
development.
The Vice-President noted that the government had
already put in place several policies aimed at creating an enhanced
environment for the development of children through a multi-sectoral
approach.
He commended the leaders of the SDA Church for showing
commitment to government-private sector partnership, as well as
contributing to the provision of technological solutions to the
educational needs of Ghanaians.
A Minister of State in the Office of
the President, Mr Yaw Barimah, said the world’s labour market was
becoming technology-based, adding that for a country to be competitive,
it was critical that its youth were equipped with the needed skills to
enable them to function effectively.
The President of the South
Ghana Conference of the SDA, Pastor Anthony Kessie, in a sermon, said
the desire of the church was to expose children to broad academic
training that would make them responsible citizens and also help to
reduce poverty, crime and other social vices.
“Our vision as a
church is to provide good quality education through well-trained and
highly motivated teachers, as well as create a conducive environment to
achieve excellent results,” he said.
Pastor Kessie added that
quality education must not be seen as a privilege enjoyed by only the
fortunate in society but a right that was essential for the development
of every human being.
The Pastor in charge of the Labone SDA Church,
Pastor Nathan Teye Odonkor, expressed gratitude to God for enabling the
establishment and development of the church.
The occasion was used to inaugurate the Labone SDA School Science and Technical Resource Centre.