The value of education must be addressed in schools - Minister Presbyterian Preparatory/JHS holds 46th Speech Day

Accra July 26, GNA- Mrs Elizabeth Sackey, the Deputy Accra Regional Minister has noted that the values in education especially during the formative age must be addressed in schools.

She therefore urged the school authorities to rebuild in the children the cherished societal values.

Mrs Sackey made the observation at the 46th Speech and Prize Giving Day of the Osu Presbyterian Preparatory School/Junior High School in Accra on the theme: 'Holistic Education: The Role of The School, Parents and The Church.'

She said 'we lived in a world where young men and women are exposed to a great lot of information and as a result are maturing at a much earlier age hence must be properly trained to better their future'.

The ceremony saw the passing out of 51 students who had completed their Basic Education Certificate Examination whilst 22 pupils graduated from nursery and kindergarten.

Of the total number of the JHS graduands, males constituted 25 and females 26.

Mrs Sackey said children from the ages of five and 18 spent approximately 30 to 35 hours a week in the classroom.

She said the contact and instructive hours of the children in schools amounted to approximately 1200 hours a year.

'Therefore, teachers have a key role to play in the moral upbringing of children.

'We should teach the children by word and by deed for them to understand and live out the moral values that we hold in our society such as the fear of God, cleanliness, discipline, respect for the elders and peers, truthfulness and honesty.

'The up-bringing of our youth should be a shared responsibility of all of us.

'Partnership amongst the church, parents, and teachers predate our independence; which has and continue to be key in the advancement of education with varying levels of quality and co-operation', she said.

Ms Veronica Appiah-Kubi, the Headmistress said the school needed infrastructural facelift as the pre-school and the primary buildings had outlived their life span.

She however added that plans were far advanced to replace the old structure and extolled parents for their support.

Dr Peter Attafuah, the Regional Director of Education in a goodwill message urged parents to bring up their wards in a rightful manner that would benefit them in future.

Mr Nii Teiko Aryee, the outgoing School Prefect, commended the teachers for their enormous efforts to shape the future of the students.

He appealed to stakeholders to refurbish the school's Science and Information and Communication Technology laboratories to enhance academic proficiency in the subjects.

The children, as part of activities to mark the day performed drama, depicting proper upbringing of children by parents, cultural dance, choreography and poetry recitals.

Awards were presented to students who had performed excellently in various courses.

The overall best students for form one to three were: Ms Elizabeth Bampoe, Master Maxwell Awoonor Williams and Ms Sandra Karter.

GNA

By Kwamina Tandoh/Cassandra Amegashie, GNA