Include religious studies in curriculum - Banahene

Takoradi, Nov 22, GNA - Mr Fosuaba Mensah Banahene, Administrator of GETFUND, has said it is unfortunate and dangerous that the new Education Reform does not give place for religious studies in the curriculum.

Speaking at the 42nd Annual Speech and Prize-Giving Family Day of Archbishop Porter Girls' Senior Girls High School at Takoradi at the weekend, he said moral education was indispensable in the training of young people.

The Day was under the theme, "Ghana @ 50: The Impact of Girls' Education and the Way Forward with the New Educational Reforms". Mr Banahene urged religious bodies to demand the insertion of religious education in the curriculum since moral training for the youth had become crucial in the present "pressure-cooker" society where higher intellectual aptitude was fast being misdirected against the common good.

He said if the training of the girl-child in science and mathematics was important, her moral education should be more important, adding, "For what benefit is gained when we train our girls to become intellectual giants who have no morals"

The new Education Reform emphasised the teaching and learning of science, mathematics and computerization, he said adding that, it was important that the girl-girl was trained adequately in these critical academic disciplines, which qualified individuals to assume high profile positions in society.

Mr Banahene said people must shatter the age-old mentality that girls could not study science and mathematics proficiently and also recognise that other areas of study such as English and History were equally important.

He said the girl-child must take the study of English very seriously and desist from joining those who spoke English as "a street language".

Mr Banahene said television and Internet advertising were gradually turning females especially girls "into pieces of merchandise" and "We all look on helplessly waiting for someone to come from outside us to stop the devastating canker".

He said, "If we allow the television and the internet through irresponsible manipulation of the four elements of light, sound, colour and motion to spearhead the education of our youth, it would result in a camouflage education and it would not be long when we would have in this world more zombies rather than human beings".

Mr Banahene urged parents, government, the Church and traditional leaders to work in concert and in collaboration with the teacher to eliminate this canker, which was destroying the youth.

Mrs Teresa Prah, Headmistress of the School, spoke of the tremendous support the Board of GETFUND had given to the school over the years.

She said Mr Banahene took keen interest in providing some major infrastructural needs of the school and personally raised funds to the tune of 37 million cedis to institute a scholarship scheme to sponsor the education of some needy but brilliant students at the school. She said the GETFUND had also provided the school with a 33-seater bus and was walling the school perimeter, which was started by the Parent-Teacher Association.

The GETFUND also constructed a new dormitory block, which was commissioned at the function.