The Catholic Education Unit of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has dedicated 2020 Education Week celebration Combating Corruption by looking at the role of Catholic Education in eliminating the canker.
Transparency International defines corruption as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. Corruption can be classified as grand, petty and political, depending on the amounts of money lost and the sector where it occurs.
In a message published in the Week celebration brochure, Mrs. Doris Ashun, General Manager of Catholic Schools in Ghana, proffered that “corruption in Ghana has become a canker the world over particularly Africa and it appears to have become a norm, cultural phenomenon and an unspoken language that everybody understands.
“The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals has specifically called for substantially reducing corruption and bribery in all its forms and developing effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels,” she said.
She called for the introduction of anti-corruption courses in the curriculum for schools, saying that “it is expedient considering the havoc the phenomenon is causing in all sectors of the economy.”
She noted that “We can first start by introducing anti-corruption courses in our curriculum, making reference to the Bible which states in Proverbs 22: 26 that “We should train up a child in the way he should go: when he is old he will not depart from it.”
“Religious and Moral Education as a subject would play a key role in giving the pupils/ students the strong moral foundation which is very necessary to build a sound society/ community,” she said, querying that “our schools may be doing well academically, does that help fight this canker of corruption?”
She added that in a bid to achieve a corruption-free society, teachers at all levels of education should encourage the formation of anti-corruption clubs on various campuses.
“Teachers should form clubs in the school and start teaching the children the forms of corruption, the impact corruption has on society, punishment and how to fight corruption, organize debates among leaners/ schools. All these would sensitize the children and all on the issues about corruption and thereby resolve to eschew the menace.”
Parents and teachers should come together and agree on exhibiting integrity and eschewing any form of corrupt activities in their day to day dealings, she appealed, calling on teachers to be fair with every student irrespective of their background and appearance.
