AME Zion Church takes the lead in Religious Education

Winneba, Nov. 17, GNA-The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church has commended Catholic Bishops Conference of Ghana for reiterating the call on the Government to ensure early re-introduction of religious education in the country's educational system and assured it of the Zion Church's full support.

This is because effective religious education from basic school level to higher places of learning has the required potential moral and re-shaping tools to stem the mounting moral decadence in the country. Right Reverend Dr. Godfred N. K. Zormelo Bishop of the Ghana branch of the AME Zion Church, made the commendation at the West/Ghana Conference Men's Fellowship annual appraisal meeting at Winneba on Saturday.

He said the Church has mandated directors of the A.M.E. Zion Education Unit to go ahead to introduce religious education in all A.M.E. Zion educational institutions in the country, to assist in curbing the alarming moral decadence that has virtually engulfed the society.

Rt. Rev. Bishop Dr. Zormelo said the Church was in the process of recruiting Islamic teachers to handle the teaching of tenets in the Holy Koran in Zion Schools so that pupils and students of Muslim origin in Zion Schools were not left out during religious studies periods. Rt. Rev. Bishop Dr. Zormelo charged ministers of the church to exhibit the highest degree of self-control and self-discipline in all their dealings to enable them to carve an excellent image for their respective branches and the Zion Church in general.

He pointed out that any immoral behaviour or act they might have serious adverse effects on the operations of the church both spiritually and morally. That was why they need to adopt the right mechanisms to protect their own image and that of the Church at any given situation. In a resolution, the fellowship urged the Government to appoint a high-powered committee to go into circumstances that led to the mass failure in the recent Basic School Certificate Examination with the view of securing a lasting solution to the problem.

The fellowship described the situation as horrible, adding that the problem was beyond the capacity of teachers alone, and stressed the need for Government to put its feet down to stop the operation of all electronic and other games considered to be major factors militating against effective learning among the children.

Urgent steps must also be initiated against the screening of bad films on television, as well as playing of music with destructive moral taste on radio networks by the various FM stations.

The resolution further charged parents to intensify their home training activities to supplement efforts of the religious organizations, the schools and the government to shape the lives of the youth in order to save the nation from doom.