A call has been made to the hierarchy of the Catholic Church in the West Africa country of Ghana to continue to assist Catholic educational institutions in the country.
The Acting Director of the Ghana Commercial Bank, Mr. Kofi Adomakoh, who made the call to the Catholic Bishops of Ghana at the 92nd Speech and Prize-giving Day of the St. Augustine’s College in the Cape Coast Archdiocese stated that additional and ongoing support from the Prelates would give the schools the upper hand in all of their endeavours, as well as restore the dwindling level of discipline in most second-cycle institutions.
“I would appeal to the Catholic Church to continue and increase their support in these schools to help us realise the goal of becoming pacesetters,” he said on Saturday, March 19.
While requesting cooperation from the Church’s leadership, the Acting Ghana Commercial Bank Director also urged stakeholders in the educational sector to place a greater emphasis on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in order to help students navigate in the fast-paced global digital arena.
Mr. Adomakoh pointed out that the covid-19 pandemic had highlighted the relevance of ICT, and that it would be advisable for Ghana’s education system to catch up with the technology wave in order to handle the numerous difficulties the pandemic has compounded on the sector.
He stressed that “the ravaging effects of covid-19 compels us to deepen the teaching of ICT and because ICT is a springboard for scaling up and improving outcomes for both educators and kids, we can tap into that address a wide range of issues.”
The Speech and Prize Giving which climaxed the 92nd Anniversary celebrations of the Catholic Second Cycle School, was attended by hosts of dignitaries including, Patron of the College and Metropolitan Archbishop of Cape Coast , the Most Rev. Charles Gabriel Palmer-Buckle, Ghana’s President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the Central Regional Minister Mrs. Justina Marigold, the Omanhen of Oguaa Traditional Area, Osabarimba Kwesi Atta II, Regional Director of Education Mrs. Martha Owusu, and Ghana’s Education Minister, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum among others.
The celebration was on the theme “Redefining education delivery in a technological age, the role of St. Augustine’s College.”
St. Augustine’s College, located in the Cape Coast Archdiocese of Ghana, is an all-male boarding catholic academic institution. In 1930, the school was founded in Amisano, a village near Elmina. The Catholic school was founded to function as a Seminary and Training College.
St. Augustine of Hippo (354–430 AD) is the patron saint of the school. The college’s motto is Omnia Vincit Labor, which translates: “Perseverance Conquers All.” St. Augustine’s College are two time winners of the National Science and Mathematics Quiz. Winners in 2007 and 2019.
Notable figures the College has produced include Mr. Paul Acquah, former governor of the Bank of Ghana, Professor Clifford Nii Boi Tagoe, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Justice Emile Short, a Ghanaian judge and academic and the first Commissioner on Human Rights and Administrative Justice in Ghana, Michael Essien, international football star, Samuel Kobina Annim, Government Statistician and former Associate Professor of Economics among other prominent figures.