The Most Rev. John Bonaventure Kwofie, CSSp, Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, has charged Stakeholders in education in the West African country of Ghana to attach importance to a holistic approach to education that values both science and the humanities.
Contributing to discussions on the third day of the 2nd National Catholic Education Forum in Koforidua on March 13, 2025, Archbishop Kwofie urged Stakeholders to champion Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM).
“We are saying STEAM is relevant, let us say it again and say it loud,” he stated, adding, “It is time STEAM is also considered important.”
STEAM is an educational approach that combines the disciplines of Science Technology Engineering Arts and Mathematics to foster creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills.
The Archbishop maintained that the leaders of the Catholic Church, both lay and clergy were largely graduates of STEAM.
While STEM has become a buzzword in educational reform, speakers at the forum, including the Most Rev. Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, emphasised the need to also champion STEAM which integrates the Arts into STEM to ensure that graduates in philosophy, theology, sociology, and other humanities fields were not sidelined in the national discourse.
Archbishop Kwofie stated: “When you start talking about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), I feel you mean business, but STEM doesn’t do justice to many of us who are graduates of STEAM, of philosophy and theology, English and Sociology in short humanities.”
The plenary session, of the third day of the Forum (March 13) was focused on “Stakeholder Engagement and Collaboration.”
The 5-day Forum from March 10 to 15 is geared towards policy review, stakeholder engagement and collaborations, and inclusivity in Catholic Education.
Archbishop Kwofie who was once the Episcopal Chairman for Education of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference said “We have heard all the roles of all Stakeholders in education…now let us go back and in the next few days, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu comes out and tells the whole Ghanaian community that every school must be ready to open its doors to the Muslim community to build their mosque in the name of interreligious dialogue, what must we do,” he posed.
Another critical issue raised by the Archbishop of Accra was the relevance of signing an outdated Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) or policies that have been stagnant for years.
He stated: “We have learnt all about prospects and challenges in our educational systems and initiatives of Stakeholder engagement and collaboration…I go back, and they tell me I have an MoU which is very old in the womb, and we want it to be signed.”
He posed: “Are we going to ask the government or Ministry of Education to sign something which is dilapidated before it is given birth, what must we do?”
The Forum provided a platform for key stakeholders to voice their perspectives and contribute to shaping a more inclusive and collaborative education system in Ghana.
Participating in the discussion were school administrators, teachers, learners, parents, and civil society organizations to explore ways to strengthen partnerships in the educational system.
Participants were asked whether they would support government efforts to endorse documents that may be considered “dilapidated” before implementation.
Some interventions from participants during the discussion session were the need for faith-based institutions to ensure religious tolerance was encouraged but nonetheless, it was also stated that a non-believer of a particular faith should not be allowed to mount an edifice on the premise of the institution.
There was a call for stakeholders to strengthen or reform the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) to facilitate regular communication or collaborations between parents, teachers, and school administrators.
Another intervention was an advocacy for stakeholders in the Catholic education system to develop guidelines for the conduct of examinations, both internal and external, from primary schools to higher schools.
This, the contributors felt, would serve as a guideline for anyone who wants to attend any Catholic institution in the country, backed by the Bishops’ Conference and published.
In one of the interventions, it was stressed that it was proper that all Catholic Private Schools established in Dioceses or parishes should get the approval of the respective Bishops before making them operational.
By Celestine Edem Gbologah//Newswatchgh.com
