The IMANI Center of Educational Policy has urged caution as it joins growing list of those advocating for a return of Mission Schools to religious bodies.
This comes on the heels of an appeal by founder of the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP), Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom for government to return the schools to their founding churches.
Speaking at St. Augustine’s College in Cape Coast after donating a one hundred and twenty eight capacity dormitory to the school, Dr Ndoum said “I want to use this platform to support the idea to return mission schools to their founders.”
Similar sentiments have been expressed by others including the Christian Council of Ghana.
Sometime in August, the General Secretary of the Council, Rev Dr Kwabena Opuni Frimpong asked government to hand over the yet to be constructed 200 community day Senior High Schools (SHS) to the churches since they had “shown over the years that they are worthy partners in managing educational institutions.”
Debate on whether to hand over the schools most of which were taken over during Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s regime is taken interesting dimensions with counter arguments for and against.
Proponents, who want the return of the mission schools, argue that the schools, which hitherto were noted for discipline and outstanding academic results are now churning out very bad results in the last few years.
A Deputy Minister of Education, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has however called for an open debate on the subject matter.
According to him, the government will not shut the door on such a debate, since it is of the view that churches are partners in development.
“We are willing to engage further on this matter, but we want the public views to also be heard,” he said.
He maintains “…..that the current system gives education in Ghana collective ownership. It is not as if the Church has no role to play.”
But the Vice President for IMANI Ghana agrees with the Deputy Minister and believes there should be wide stakeholder consultation on the matter.
Speaking to Live News, Kofi Bentil said as a first step religious bodies should be given greater and increased authority in the day to day administration of mission schools.
“These schools have been off the churches management for quite a while and giving it back to the churches and expecting them to run it will create be a problem,” he said.
Explaining further he added that “They must be given more powers to apply the kind of things they used to apply which made these schools great.”
Kofi Bentil also added if the churches exercise greater responsibility and control over the schools, “the situation will work better than handing it back to the authorities and (the state) washing its hands off it. So yes I agree in principle for it to be returned but I don’t think it’s a simple case.”
