Bamvum (N/R), Nov. 21, GNA - The Presbyterian Senior High School (PRESEC) in Tamale had benefited from a six-unit classroom block at the c= ost of GH¢108,265 at its new site at Bumvum, a suburb of Tamale. The facility was built with financial support from the Oikonomous Foundation of Netherlands. Right Reverend Dr Yaw Frimpong Manso, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, who commissioned the school, appealed to the government to hand over the mission schools to the church to instill moral and discipli= ne into the youth through education.

He said because the church was no longer in control of the mission schools, moral decadence had assumed alarming propulsion and that "any fo= rm of education that emphasizes academic excellence to the neglect of the mo= ral and spiritual aspects would not fulfill the aspiration of society." Rt. Rev. Dr. Manso said academic excellence must be combined with mo= ral excellence to produce quality education.

The Moderator said most educational ordinances were passed in the pa= st which provided for two categories of schools; government schools and assisted schools, with the government schools financed and managed by the=

government while religious bodies ran the assisted schools. He said per the ordinance, assisted schools received financial assistance from the government after satisfying laid down conditions.

Rt. Rev. Dr Frimpong Manso said before mission schools ceded autonom= y to government, the religious bodies had a freehand to determine the curriculum which had a mixture of academic disciplines and religious knowledge. He stressed that one could talk of the 'Presbyterian Discipline' wit= h emphasis on not only the development of the head but of the heart. "To the missions, education is not complete without moral and spirit= ual development of the individual," he said.

Mr San Nasamu Asabigi, Deputy Northern Regional Minister, in a speec= h read for him, commended the Presbyterian Church for its invaluable contribution to the state as a partner in development and appealed to oth= er development partners to assist government achieve its desired goals. He said the six-unit classroom block came at a time when some school= s were facing infrastructure challenges.

Mr Anthony Bakutomah, Headmaster of Tamale PRESEC, said the school, established in 2002 with only 85 students, currently has 520 students. He said the school scored 100 percent in the West Africa Examination= s between 2005 and 2008 but dropped to 99 percent in 2009. Mr Bakutomah appealed for support from donor partners, the governmen= t and non governmental organizations to address challenges such as non-existence of hostel facilities for the students, absence of teacher's=

accommodation and unavailability of vehicle for the school. 21 Nov. 10