Churches and mission schools have been urged to reclaim their traditional role in promoting discipline and character formation among young people in Ghana.
The call follows growing concerns over indiscipline in educational institutions and its wider impact on society.
The Director-General of the Ghana Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Service, Dr Eric Kofi Adzroe, made the call at the 10th conference and anniversary celebration organised by the Conference of Heads of Evangelical Presbyterian Schools (COHCEPS) at Ho Mawuli SHS.
Dr Adzroe said mission institutions, which have historically played a significant role in Ghana’s education system, must partner government to equip young people not only with employable skills but also with discipline and strong moral values.
According to him, increasing cases of indiscipline in society — from road traffic violations to corruption and environmental degradation — reflect weaknesses in the training and upbringing of young people.
“When there is indiscipline on our roads, it means the schools that we train our young people are not disciplined. When there is corruption, it means we have not trained disciplined minds. When there is environmental degradation, it means we have failed in disciplining our minds,” he said.
Dr Adzroe stressed that the situation requires urgent reflection by mission schools and other educational institutions, warning that failure to properly train young people could have serious consequences for the country’s future.
He also referenced a recent conference convened by the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, to deliberate on growing indiscipline in schools.
Dr Adzroe said the concerns raised by the Education Minister should equally engage the attention of churches, particularly because of their significant contribution to Ghana’s education sector.
He urged churches to return to what he described as their “original mission training” and examine what may have gone wrong with discipline and character formation in their institutions.
Touching on illegal small-scale mining, popularly known as galamsey, Dr Adzroe questioned the effectiveness of the training provided to students, given that some graduates later become involved in activities that contribute to environmental degradation.
“Most of the churches are talking about galamsey. But we forgot that the very people we train in the institution are the people who are going back to do galamsey. What kind of training did we give to them? What kind of discipline have they taken from the school?” he questioned.
Dr Adzroe called for a comprehensive review of the country’s approach to education, saying mission institutions must reassess their role and work closely with government to address indiscipline.
He maintained that strengthening TVET alongside character and moral education would help prepare young people to become responsible citizens and productive leaders.
According to him, mission institutions must take the lead by setting high standards of discipline for other educational institutions to emulate.
“We need to take a step backwards and begin to recalibrate, reconnect, dot all the I’s and cross the T’s. For me, that is the only way the missions can support the government in stemming indiscipline in our institutions and in the country at large,” Dr Adzroe concluded.
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