Let's fight against occultism, cyberfraud

June 27, 2009
Page 19

THE Minister of Education, Mr Alex Tettey-Enyo, has called for a collective effort against the rising menace of occultism and cyberfraud among schoolchildren in the country.
“There is an emergence of occultism which to me is of a greater concern than all others known in recent times. This would require the combined efforts of us all to address for the good of our students and the entire country,” he said.
Mr Tettey-Enyo said this in address read on his behalf at the sixth graduation and prize-giving day of the Galaxy International School in Accra last Thursday.
He said much as the ministry believed in the rights of the individual to worship and join associations, it wished that all stakeholders, especially parents, would inculcate in their children societal values that would produce the committed individuals required by society.
He said parents’ role should go beyond the payment of school fees and dues, adding that “it is necessary to support institutional rules and regulations aimed at instilling discipline and acceptable student and staff behaviour”.
Mr Tettey-Enyo stressed the need for students to cultivate positive attitudes and eschew those that were inimical to the progress of academic work and discipline.
“Be reminded that you are yourselves the architects of your future. This time that you have the chance of being in school, make the best of every situation,” he said.
He said discipline was inseparable from academic excellence, and that in areas where discipline was found to be at its lowest ebb, moral decadence set in and in turn eroded that sense of commitment that would be required of the youth in studies and preparation for purposeful career development.
Mr Tettey-Enyo called for effective supervision and motivation for teachers and students.
He commended the authorities of the Galaxy International School for admitting children from different cultures, saying “coming from 58 cultural backgrounds and with a population of over 570 students, I consider interaction in this school a very productive one as it has the propensity to create a healthy school environment which would culminate in the socio-economic growth of Ghana”.
The government, he said, was poised to deliver good quality education to the people.
The General Manager of Galaxy International School, Mr Tamer Kirca, said since 2001 when the school was established, it had not ceased to develop in terms of infrastructure, curricula, academic performance and student numbers.
One essential characteristic of the school’s international status, he said, was that it gave its students the opportunity to pursue either the British or the Ghanaian system of education.
He said the school used state-of-the-art teaching and learning facilities like the modern science laboratories, computer laboratories, a well-resourced library, broadband internet facilities for research work, as well as a multinational teaching staff.
Mr Kirca said the school had acquired a huge land and that plans were underway to construct a modern school complex.