The Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, Ghana, the Most Rev. Titus Awotwi-Pratt, has given the strongest indication yet of the church’s determination to re-visit its partnership agreement with the government if the latter fails to enforce the values and tenets on which Methodist schools were founded.
He said the Methodist Church, being a Christian institution with strong educational beliefs, would never compromise on its beliefs and practices.
Addressing the 180th anniversary speech and prize-giving day of Wesley Girls’ High School in Cape Coast last Saturday, the Most Rev. Awotwi-Pratt said the church would, however, not look down on other religions or make them feel inferior or unwanted in the community but warned of its determination to resist any attempt to place impediments on its way.
The anniversary was on the theme: “Re-defining our collaboration with our stakeholders after 180 years: The way forward.”
Stakeholders
The Most Rev. Awotwi-Pratt said education could never be the responsibility of just a group of people, since it was a multi-faceted enterprise, adding that the complexity of human development required a diversified approach which could not be provided by one classified group.
“It is a shared responsibility for parents, the community, the government, past students and the church. That’s why a partnership becomes an important factor in the administration of a school,” he stressed.
He said the church played a pioneering role in the establishment of formal schools, adding that after independence, the government saw the need to partner the church to ensure that its citizens were given the right kind of education.
Principle
He said the principles of the church’s educational institutions enjoined the leadership of the Methodist Church to ensure that its schools challenged students to understand their failings and potential, adding that “the results of our students must not be compromised, so they can appreciate their performances”.
On the contribution of parents to education, he expressed the strong belief that “the home should be the first place that the brick of discipline must be laid”.
“For the Methodist, it is our belief that salvation is for all without exception — male and female, young and old. That is what influenced the establishment of schools for boys and girls and even for adults,” he stressed.
Commendation
The Presiding Bishop commended the old girls of the school for their immense contribution towards the development of Wesley Girls over the years.
The Headmistress of the school, Mrs Betty Djokoto, said the school, which began with just 20 students, now had 1,034.
She said the story of the school in the 1800s and 1900s was different from what it was today only in terms of the quantity of infrastructure and population, but noted that the challenges and hurdles that it faced remained the same.
She said the authorities had strived in all things to keep the school’s core values in focus, adding that “they are what give us the direction and impetus to achieve our goals”.
On student performance, Mrs Djokoto announced that the school produced the overall first, second and third best candidates in West Africa, an unprecedented feat in the history of the school.
The Senior Prefect, Ms Akosua Boampong, said the school’s assembly hall had been under construction for more than 10 years and called for support towards the completion of the project.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom (UK) branch of the Wesley Girls’ High School Old Girls Association has awarded a scholarship to the school’s best teacher of the year to spend two weeks in the UK visiting secondary schools and upgrading his or her skills.
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