'MoU Needed for Effective Partnership in Education'

By Abeduwaa Lucy Appiah and Dorothy Brocke

The President of Presbyterian University College (PUC), Reverend Professor Emmanuel Adow Obeng, has stressed the need for a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the government and management of mission schools for an effective partnership in education.

This, he said, would ensure that the responsibilities of both parties in managing the affairs of the mission schools were clearly spelt out.

Speaking at a symposium organised by the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) in Accra last Thursday, Rev. Prof. Obeng said the mission schools were being managed and controlled by the government saying, "This did not promote effective management of the mission schools."

Held on the theme: 'Our Partnership in Education; Way Forward', the symposium was attended by leadership and students of Presbyterian, senior high and tertiary schools throughout the country.

The "government is in control of everything concerning the administration and management of the schools," he said, adding that "this should not be the case but rather a partnership is needed".

Rev. Prof. Obeng indicated that there was no clear partnership agreement between both parties that was acceptable to them, hence, the serious administration and managerial problems.

In addition, the president of the PUC said the weak financial position of the mission schools and their inability to provide the needed funds for the running of the school had placed them in a weaker position, as far as the partnership was concerned.

"We have always depended on government for handouts to run our respective institutions," he emphasised.

Rev. Prof. Obeng stated that the non-recognition of officials from the Ministry of Education of the mission schools as critical partners in education had weakened the partnership, adding that, "the nature of the partnership has been dictated by government and its policies".

In response, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, Deputy Minister of Basic and Secondary Education at the Ministry of Education, promised a roundtable discussion between the government and the mission schools on ways to strengthen the partnership for the betterment of the country.

According to him, this would enable the church to perform its vision to help humanity, while the state provided the necessary funding support for the benefit of the future generation and the society as a whole.

Dr Adutwum added that an educational system that worked for the transformation of the nation needed to consider issues of access, quality and relevance stressing that, "without these, the system would not inure to the benefit of the country".

He urged the management of mission schools to visit their various institutions frequently to know the performance of the schools, so they could put positive measures in place to strengthen the weaker ones.

The Chief Justice, Ms Sophia Akuffo, who chaired the function, called on the government and management of mission schools to work together and ensure an acceptable transformative education system for the younger generation.

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