Bishop says morality must be part of girl-child training

Professor James Hawkins Ephraim, Vice Chancellor of the Catholic University College of Ghana (CUCG), has said the training of the girl-child in the country must be infused with morality.

This, he said, was because the emergence of globalization was strongly militating against the effort in giving the right training, education, formation and information by trainers and educators to the youth, especially the girl-child.

Prof. Ephraim was speaking on the theme: “Morality and the training of the girl-child, our concern” to open the Summer Camp 2012 under the annual forum of Heads of Girls’ Senior High Schools (FOHGSHS) at Fiapre .

The programme attended by 25 out of the 33 girls’ SHS in the country comprised 250 students, 10 each and their Headmistresses from the 25 participating schools.

Prof. Hawkins said the girl-child had the right to be stimulated to make sound judgments based on a well-formed conscience.

Most Reverend Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, Catholic Bishop of Sunyani, post-modernism and philosophies in subtle forms as music, movies, televisions, books and others sometimes concealed “in the clothing of rights and freedoms wrongly understood” had trickled down to the schools to pre-occupy the mindset of students and the youth in society.

“Consequently, there is nothing like good or bad, authority, right or wrong” he said and added “clear cut ways of doing things and the values that guided the training of young men and women are no more”.

He said training of the girl-child required a reversal of the post modern philosophy and negative trends to create acceptable values and standards that society, trainers and trainees subscribed to.

He expressed the optimism that such values would then guide all parties so that there could be effective training for the girl-child and young women.

Ms. Betty Oppong, retired Headmistress of Serwaa Nyarko Girls SHS in Kumasi and out-going President of FOHGSHS, said FOHGSHS gave them opportunity for discussion on pertinent issues affecting education and welfare of girls.

Mrs. Janet Abobigu the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Unijay Limited, a Kumasi-based uniform manufacturing company, donated 20 industrial sewing machines, 15 gas cookers and 500 pieces of Lacoste T-shirts valued at GH?30, 000.00 to FOHGSHS for distribution to the 33 girls’ SHS in the country.