St Augustine Past Students Union (APSU) has strongly advocated for the integration of Christian moral values into Ghana’s educational fabric to ensure quality outcomes.
The old students noted that Christian morality was the cornerstone of providing holistic education to learners, and help in building a civilised society, therefore, it should be central to Ghana’s educational system.
They made this call at a lecture to commemorate the 2024 Feast of St Augustine in Accra, on the theme: “Role of Alumni as stakeholders in enhancing quality education: A case study of APSU over the last 90 years.”
In his speech, Mr Joseph Connel, a former student and Head of Administration of the College, stated that “any highly educated individual without any moral education is more dangerous to society than the uneducated mind.”
“That is to say, the skills and knowledge acquired by the educated person could be used to manipulate people and systems to personal parochial advantage or even condemn whole groups and societies to extinction if they are not imbued with principle of morality,” he explained.
Such phenomenon he said, was the bedrock of the any Catholic institution, which ensured that learners were instilled with love, compassion, self-control, justice among others, to serve the world and make it a better place for all.
Mr Connel indicated that in the early days and several years of the establishment of the College, the management and educators drafted some brilliant past students into the staff immediately after their completion.
“Perhaps, this gesture was to help the past students to demonstrate one of the fundamental Christian principles of love of neighbour passed down to them as part of their training by the founding Catholic fathers and educators,” he said.
He noted that it had been through such moral obligation that past students continued to play vital roles in educating, mentoring and guiding students as defined to them by the College administrators.
Particularly on mentorship, he stated that the College had over the years, seen tremendous improvement in the growth and development of learners, with past students helping to build the confidence and self-esteem of the learners.
“The regular mentoring sessions by APSUnians for the students, in conjunction with the quality of education and the effective communication systems established in the College, help to address any student agitations that could degenerate into demonstration or rowdyism,” he emphasised.
The Most Rev Dr John Kobina Louis, Auxiliary Bishop of Accra Archdiocese, said that quality education must be holistic to cover all aspects of the physical and spiritual dimensions of the person.
He, observed, however, that the definitions of quality education tend to ignore the fact that the human person is both body and soul, leading to what he termed as ‘educational kwashiorkor.’
“Whoever promotes an agenda which is contrary to the Christ-rooted and centuries-tested Catholic education does not only deny the current learners of integral development but destroys the very moral foundation of society for generations to come,” he said.
He called on the government to urgently collaborate with the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, other religious bodies, traditional leaders, associations of teachers, parents, alumni, learners, for a comprehensive solution to the challenge.
That included aligning national policies, and administrative procedures to ensure that learners always benefitted from quality education, which is truly holistic and nation-building in nature.
Dr Kenneth Ashigbey, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, also a past student of the St Augustine’s College, underscored the importance of past students in ensuring quality education.
He noted that not only did past students continued to be the driving force behind infrastructure and other development in schools, but continued to be the beacon of hope and excellence, by promoting a community of scholars, leaders, and change-makers.
“Let us work together to create an environment where every alumnus feels valued, recognised, and motivated to contribute to the growth of our institution,” Dr Ashigbey encouraged.
“By acknowledging the contributions of all alumni, we can attract more investment, foster a sense of ownership, and ensure the continued excellence of our beloved school,” he stated.
