By Doreen Darko
Ms. Josephine Nkrumah, Chairman of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), has called for the re-examination of the National Education Curriculum to incorporate into it subjects that support students’ development.
This, she said, would make students socially responsible citizens who would contribute meaningfully to the development of society through learning and application of values.
Values such as integrity, honesty, accountability, discipline and patriotism, when inculcated into the youth at a tender age, she said, would help produce citizens who would be morally sound and shun all forms of corruption.
She made the suggestion when she chaired the launch of an inter-faith National Anti-Corruption Campaign by the Forum for Actions on Inclusion, Transparency and Harmony (FAITH) in Ghana.
Dubbed: Interfaith Shaping Hearts, Attitudes and Minds to End Corruption in Ghana” (I-SHAME Corruption), the campaign is a two-year project funded by STAR-Ghana.
Ms. Nkrumah said the project’s focus on the youth is a step in the right direction because the young people who are not only the future but the present of the society need to be conscientised on the negative effects of corruption on the nation.
The NCCE Chair entreated the citizenry not to keep mute but speak about the ills in society, adding that “we either take a stand against corruption or sink deep into its mires such as poverty, lack of basic amenities and the disintegration of society”.
Mr. Samuel Zan Akologo, Executive Secretary of CARITAS Ghana, and Head of the Department of Human Development at the National Catholic Secretariat, said the project would target pupils and teachers with a co-curricular mentoring programme towards re-orienting their behavioural pattern against corruption.
He stated that Integrity Clubs would be established in 20 selected Basic Schools across the ten regions in the country and some teachers trained to mentor the Students and shape them to eschew corruption. He stressed that “children were more likely to change if they had proper formation at the formative stage”.
Mr. Akologo said that selected and credible religious leaders would support the teachers on periodic mentoring visits to the schools and interact with the pupils.
With collaboration from the Ghana Education Service and the NCCE, he said a quarterly intra and inter-school quizes and debates would be organised to enhance learning and peer networking for positive influence.
Hajia Ayishetu Abdul-Kadiri, Chairperson of FAITH in Ghana Platform, said the initiative was a response to a call by the National Catholic Secretariat, two years ago for an Inter-Faith co-operation project for social impact as moral interventions to bring the greatest good to humanity.
She expressed gratitude to Star- Ghana for supporting the project and commended the religious institutions on the FAITH Platform for their commitment and dedication.
Most Rev. Philip Naameh, President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference (GCBC), who led some religious leaders to launch the campaign, symbolically flashed a light to dispel darkness and say no to corruption.
He noted that children are the best people to change societal attitude towards corruption, adding that when they are influenced early, it would help mitigate corrupt practices in society
The FAITH platform is made up of various religious groups and faith-based organisations including the Office of the National Chief Imam, (ONCI), the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC), the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission (AMM), the Marshallan Relief and Development Services (MAREDES), the Federation of Muslim Women’s Association in Ghana (FOMWAG ), the National Catholic Secretariat (NCS) and CARITAS Ghana.
