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Second National Catholic Education Forum in Ghana Ends with Call to “strengthen Catholic identity in schools”

Jude Atemanke

By Jude Atemanke

Accra, 16 March, 2025 / 2:01 pm (ACI Africa).

The Second National Catholic Education Forum in Ghana has ended with a call on those at the helm of Catholic institutions of learning in the West African nation to “strengthen” the Catholic identity in their respective educational facilities.

In the final message following the March 10-15 forum that the Catholic Diocese of Koforidua hosted on the  theme, “Catholic Education for Integral Development: Shaping a Resilient and Inclusive Ghana”, the President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC) notes that “education is an onerous task that requires collective effort; and thus, a proper partnership, with well-defined roles, will ensure effective education delivery in the country.”

In a series of recommendations following the forum, Bishop Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi of Ghana’s Catholic Diocese of Sunyani calls for “working with other relevant parties such as the Christian Council of Ghana, Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council, Office of the National Chief Imam, and Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission Ghana to review the draft Memorandum of Understanding to reflect our current position on the management of Mission/Unit schools and to ensure its signing by the Government for implementation from the next academic year – 2025/2026.”

“A committee should be commissioned by the Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference to develop a 5-year national strategic framework for Catholic Education by the end of July 2025,” Bishop Gyamfi says in the message issued on March 14.

The Ghanaian Catholic Bishop further underscores the need to “strengthen the Catholic identity in our schools at all levels by the teaching of Catholic doctrines, building chapels, increasing the presence of Priests and Consecrated Persons, appointing chaplains to the schools, etc.”

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Other recommendations include “ensuring that our General, Regional, and Local Managers stay relevant by being more creative, innovative, proactive, and hardworking.”

GCBC has also encouraged “empowering Catholic educators to develop a policy on discipline, informed by the existing Ghana Education Service guidelines.”

To the government, the GCBC President recommends the “Signing the Memorandum of Understanding that respects the partnership between the Government and Missions in the management of schools, as outlined in the Pre-Tertiary Education Act 2020 (Act 1049).”

He also urges the government to ensure “the restoration of the roles of General, Regional, and Local Managers in the management of Catholic education.”

Bishop Gyamfi further urges the Ghanaian government to have “a permanent representation for the Catholic Church at the Ministerial Advisory Board of Education and the Ghana Education Council, recognizing the Church as the second-largest provider of education in the country.”

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The Catholic Church leader goes on to emphasize the importance of investing in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), saying, “The Government should commit to the establishment of at least one TVET centre of excellence in each region during this parliamentary term and ensure that new technologies with great future potentials – such as robotics, e-mobility, and green energies – are incorporated into the curricula of TVET institutions.”

The Local Ordinary of Sunyani since his Episcopal Consecration in June 2003 calls for “more attention to inclusive education,” and urges the government to develop “a more inclusive national education policy to cater to learners with special needs,” and to “provide adequate educational infrastructure and facilities to accommodate them.”

On examination malpractice, Bishop Gyamfi recommends, “Engaging all stakeholders to seek solutions and ensuring that more deterring punitive measures are put in place to deal with teachers, parents, students, administrators and other officials who engage in such acts.”

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things,” the GCBC President says.

Jude Atemanke

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.

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